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LIFE

OP

DEWITT 'CLINTON

BY

JAMES RENWICK, L L. D.,

PROFESSOR OP NATURAL EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY AND
CHEMISTRY IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE

NEW-YORK: .,
PUBLISHED BY HARPER «& BROTHERS,

NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET.

184(\Vc'

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, b7

Harper & Brothers,

In the Clerk's OfBce of the Southern District of New-York.

t » c
c c
etc

PREFACE.

The Biography of Dew^tt Clinton, which is now
submitted to the pubHc, was originally intended to
have been a mere sketch, comprised within less
than- a third of its present extent. The subject,
however, was found to present itself in so many
new and important points of view, that.it appear-
ed probable that so meager an outline would have
given but little satisfaction to the reader. In this
stage of the composition, the author was tendered
the use of the manuscript papers of the subject of
the biography, and various other materials, by the
kindness of Charles A. Clinton, the worthy and
estimable son of so distinguished a father. To
this gentleman thanks are gratefully returned for
this and various other assistance which he has ren-
dered the author. Thus, while no undue influence
has been exerted by any of the relatives or. friends
of the departed statesman, the work will have the
merit, if it possess no other, of being drawn from
the nK)st authentic sources.

Columbia College, June, 1840.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Page

Introduction. — Memoir of the Family of Clin-
ton 13

CHAPTER n.

Birth of Devntt Clinton. — His early Educa-
tion.— He studies at the Kingston Acade-
my.— He is present at the Evacuation of
JYew-York. — He enters Columbia College.
— Account of the Professors of that Insti-
tution.— Clinton distinguishes himself as
a Scholar, and graduates vdth the highest
honours 25

CHAPTER m.

Clinton enters upon the Study of the Law,
and is admitted to its Practice. — He is ap-
pointed Private Secretary to his Uncle the
Governor. — His Career as a Political Wri-
ter.— He retires to Private Life, and allies
himself to Scientific Pursuits. — He Mar-
ries.— Character of his Wife 37

IV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Page

State of Parties under the Administration of
Adams. — Clinton is elected a Member of
Assembly. — He is chosen Senator of the
State. — He becomes a Member of the Coun-
cil of Appointme7it. — Contest in respect to
the Powers of that Council. — State Conven-
tion.— His Victory over Jay. — He is elected
a Senator of the United States, where he
is opposed to Gouverneur Monis. — Debate
on the Mississippi Question. — Clinton'' s
Speech on that occasion. — He acquires a
high Reputation as a Statesman .... 49

CHAPTER V.

Clinton is appointed Mayor of the City of
Mew-York. — Important Duties of that Of"
fee. — His successive Reappointments and
Removals. — Fluctuations of Party. — Caus-
es of his Decline in Popularity. — Plis
great Ability as a Criminal Judge, — The
College Riot. — His Energy as Head of the
Police. — Threatened Riots prevented by his
Measures of Precaution. — Aggressions of
British Cruisers in the Waters of JYew-
York. — Breaches of JYeutrality attempted
by the French. — Clinton^s Acts on these
Occasions 61

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

Page

Origin of the Public School Society of Kew-
York. — It is Chartered. — Is founded on
Private Contributions. — Clinton's Agency
in obtaining them. — Gift from the Corpo-
ration of JVew-York, and Grant from the
State Legislature. — Reflections on the Sys-
tem of Common Schools. — Turnpike from
Poughkeepsie to Kingsbridge 78

CHAPTER VII.

Clinton is elected a Member of the State Sen-
ate. — Incorporation of the Sailor's Snug
Harbour. — Law removing the Incapacities
of Roman Catholics. — Charter of the Man-
umission Society ; of the Chicinnati. —
Grant for an Insane Hospital. — Charter
of the Eagle Fire Insurance Company. —
Grant for the Defence of the Harbour of
Jfeio-York. — Academy of Fine Arts In-
corporated.— Clinton is named a Director,
and subsequently President of the Academy.
— Charter of the American Fur Company.
— Burial of the Remains of the Prisoners

in the Jersey Hulk 89

A2

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Page

Im,porta7it Laws drawn hy Clinton while Sen-
ator.— His Opinions as a Memher of the
Court of Errors. — He Receives a Chal-
lenge for words spoken in Debate. — His
Manly and Dignified Conduct on that Oc-
casion.— Attempt at Corruption in obtain-
ing the Charter of a Bank 101

CHAPTER IX.

Literary and Scientific Pursuits of Clinton.
— Historical Society ; his efforts in its be-
half and his Mdress on the History of the
Five JYations. — Literary and Philosophical
Society formed, and Clinton chosen Presi-
dent.— His Inaugural Discourse. — His Dis-
covery of a JYative Variety of Wlieat, and
other Contributions to Natural Science . .114

CHAPTER X.

Description of the Water Communications of
the State of JYew-York. — Use made of
them by the Indians. — Expedition of Gen-
eral Clinton on the Susquehanna. — Views
of Lieutenant-Governor C olden. — Tour of
Washington to Wood Creek. — His Predi-
lections for the Route to the Chesapeake,

CONTENTS. Vll

Page

— Clinton'' s liberal Policy in relation to this
Question . 129

CHAPTER XL

Western Limit of the early Settlements on
the Mohawk. — Claims of Massachusetts.
— These Claims are 'partially Admitted.
— Influx of Emigration from Mew-Eng-
land.— Voyage of the Wadsworths. — State
Roads. — Western Inland Lock JYavigation
Company. — Its slow Progress and unsuc-
cessful Result. — Communication between
the Hudson and Lake Champlain. — JYor-
them Canal 141

CHAPTER XTI.

Earliest Legislation of the State of Jfew-
York in relation to Canals. — Petition of
Colles. — Report of Jeffrey Smith. — Mes-
sages of George Clinton. — Resolution of
Judge Forman. — Survey made by Geddes,
who first demonstrated the Practicability
of a Route to Lake Erie. — Essays of Jesse
Hawley. — Resolution of Judge Piatt. —
Appointment of a Board of Commissioners,
of which Clinton is one. — Character of
Morris, the senior Commissioner. — JYotice
of the other Commissioners 153

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER Xni.

Page

The Canal Commissioners undertake to ex-
amine the Route. — Clinton and others pro-
ceed hy Water from Schenectady. — l^eir
Progress to Geneva, after a Deviation to
Oswego. — Journey hy Land to JYiagara,
and return to Albany hy the way of Ithaca.
— Meetings of the Commissioners at Utica
and Chippeway. — Diversity of Opinion in
the Board. — Opinion of Morris. — Clinton's
Views prevail in the Board. — Report dravm
up hy Mr. Morris. — Examination of its
Features and Consequences 167

CHAPTER XIV.

Origin and Growth of the Democratic Party.
— Its Triumph in the Election of Jefferson.
— George Clinton chosen Vice-President in
the place of Burr. — His Pretensions to he
the Successor of Jefferson. — He is passed
over. — Jealousy of Tf*Vg'mia. — Jill Aid to
the JVew-York Canals is refused. — Dewitt
Clinton is named as a Candidate for the
Presidency. — Examination of his Course
in relation to the War 182

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XV.

Page

Progress of the Canal Policy interrupted by
the War. — Clint&n tenders his Military
Services to Governor Tompkins. — His Re-
port on the Defence of the City of JVew-
York. — Measures of the Corporation, and
of the State and General Governments, in
consequence. — Clinton is removed from his
Office of Mayor. — He renews the Consid-
eration of the Canal Question. — Meeting
on that Subject in JYew-York. — Clinton
draws the Memorial of that Meeting. — Ex-
amination of the Contents, and Effects of
that Memorial 198

CHAPTER XVI.

Memorial is presented to the Legislature. —
Final Report of the Old Board of Com-
missioners.— Law to provide for the Im-
provement of the Internal JYavigation of
the State. — The JYew Board of Commis-
sioners enter upon their duties. — Their Re-
port.— Vast amount of field-work perform-
ed under their direction. — Scheme of Fi-
nance.— Law of Congress for promoting
Internal Improvements. — Its Rejection by
President Madison as unconstitutional. —
Modifications rendered necessary in the

X CONTENTS.

Page

Scheme of Finance. — The Bill to authorize
the construction of the Canal becomes a
Law. — Opposition of the City Delegation.
— The Canal Policy made by them a party
question 213

CHAPTER XVII.

Clinton is elected Governor of the State of
Jfew-York. — Apparent Calm in Party Feel-
ings.— Causes of renewed Party Violence.
— Tompkins is held up as a Candidate in
opposition to him. — Clinton's Re-election.
— Farther increase of Party Violence. —
Interference of the General Government. —
Personal Hostility added to Feelings of
Party. — Important Measures recommend-
ed by Clinton and carried in the Legis-
lature.— Character of his Speeches to the
Legislature 247

CHAPTER XVIII.

Objections to the old Constitution of the State.
— All Parties concur in a desire for its
Amendment. — Bill calling a Convention
returned by the Council of Revision. —
Clinton's Opinions on the subject. — A Law
is passed by which the call of a Convention
is submitted to a popular vote. — Alterations
made in the old Constitution. — Clinton's

CONTENTS.

XI

Page

term of Office is abridged.— He declines
to he a Candidate for re-election.— Accident
to his leg.— His first Wife dies.— He visits
the States of Jersey and Ohio.— He visits
Pennsylvania.— He is examined before a
Committee of the Legislature.— He is re-
moved from his Office of Canal Commis-
sioner.—Public Indignation in Consequence,
—Attempt of the General Government to
tax Vessels navigating the Canal— Clinton
is nominated by the Republican Convention
at Utica, and again elected Governor.— He
marries his second Wife ...... 247

CHAPTER XIX.

Success of the Canal Policy. — Silver Vases
are presented to Clinton by the Merchants
ofJYew- York.— He is invited by Mr. Adams
to serve as Minister to Great Britain, and
declines.— Great Celebration of the opening
of the Canal.— JYew and important Public
Works recommended by Clinton.— His plan
of a Board of Public Works-Antimasonic
Excitement.— Coalition to defeat Clinton^,
election as Governor.— He is, notwithstand-
ing, re-elected 266

XU CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XX.

Page

Clinton^s views of Religious Worship. — His
Services to the Preshyterian Education and
Bible Societies. — His occasional Addresses.
— Great change in the Relations of Parties.
— Clinton recommends the Road through
the Southwestern tier of Counties. — His
Illness and Death. — Political Reflections.
— Description of Clinton's Person, and Re-
marks on his Character. — Illustrations of
the importance of his Services in promoting
the Canal Policy of the State .... 285

DEWITT CLINTON.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction. — Memoir of the Family of Clinton.

In undertaking a biography of Dewitt Clinton,
a task of no little difficulty is to be performed.
Few men have been more the object of virulent
animosity or of more exalted praise. It is, there-
fore, hardly possible to obtain any reasonable esti-
mate of his character and public services from the
testimony of his contemporaries ; a part of whom
sought to sink him below the level in popular es-
teem of which he was certainly worthy, while
others, perhaps, endeavoured to raise him to a
standing to which he was hardly entitled. In
such conflicting testimony, the truth can with dif-
ficulty be reached.

It will be necessary, too, in describing his ca-
reer, to open anew the wounds of political discord.
In the violent contests between two great and
powerful parties, which preceded the war of 1812,
and in the continual fluctuations of opinion which
have since occurred, there was hardly any distin-

B

14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

guished individual of our state who has not at one
time been opposed to Clinton, and at another uni-
ted with him in the pursuit of the same political
object^ and of these many still survive. There
were also others, who, opposed to him personally
in the early period of his life, continued that op-
position to the hour of his death, and seem to
have been guided finally by no other principle but
that of being found in the party where he was
not ; and there have been some who sunk all oth-
er considerations in devoted attachment to his for-
tunes.

Those who were so long his open enemies, how-
ever, prey not upon the character of the dead j
and those who, with fair and manly feelings, sup-
ported him when his course was consistent with
their views of state and national policy, and act-
ed against him without personal motives when
their opinions did not coincide with his, cannot be
offended by a narrative, intended to be impartial,
of his eventful career. There are those, however,
who meanly flattered him when possessed of pow-
er, and as basely deserted him when the tide of
politics set against him, to whom a candid account
of the vicissitudes of his political hfe must recall
disagreeable reflections ; and there must be some
of those who almost deified him while alive, who
may feel disappointed at the coldness of the prais
es which this history awards him.

DEWITT CLINTON. 15

The name and family of Clinton are insepara-
bly connected with the history of the Province and
State of New-York. Under the royal government,
George Clinton, a naval officer of high rank, was
for a time chief-magistrate of the colony. A sec-
ond of the same name, the uncle of the subject
of our memoir, was the first governor of the state
after its independence was declared. This office
he held for eighteen years, and was distinguished,
not only for a faithful discharge of the civil duties
of his office, but for a brave though unsuccessful
defence of the passes of the Highlands, at the
head of the militia suddenly gathered to oppose
the royal forces.

James Clinton, the father of Dewitt, was a
brave and useful military officer in the war of
1756 and in that of the revolution; while a third
of the name of George, the son of James and
brother of Dewitt, represented the City of New-
York in the Congress of the United States.

However unimportant we may justly view such
pretensions as are founded on ancestral worth
alone, and however politic it may be in a repub-
lican government to reject all claims to distinction
growing out of such a cause, we may still feel,
and with propriety gratify, a curiosity as to the
race whence our eminent pubhc servants have
drawn their descent. In countries where an aris-
tocracy prevails, the sons often derive all their dis-

16 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

tinction from the exploits and virtues of their sires;
while in those where no such adventitious source
of dignity exists, the merits of the descendant re-
flect back honour upon the memory of his progen-
itors.

The family which bears the name of Clinton is
of Norman origin. Individuals belonging to it
appear in the history of the Crusades, and figure
in the chivalrous chronicles of Froissart and Mon-
strelet. For our own purposes, we need only go
back to the immediate ancestor of the branch
which settled in the State of New-York, who was
a gentleman of fortune and influence in the reign
of Charles I. A cadet of the family of the Earls
of Lincoln, he espoused, along with many other
scions of noble houses, the royal side in the civil
war. On the failure of that cause, he had attain-
ed a sufficient degree of eminence as its adherent
to be too obnoxious to the victors to hope for safe-
ty. He therefore took refuge on the Continent.
We next find him in Scotland, under circiunstan-
ces which lead to the impression that he had ac-
companied Charles II. in the brave but unfortu-
nate effort which that prince made to reconquer
England at the head of the Scottish army. Here
he married a lady of the noble house of Kennedy.
After the disastrous battle of Worcester, he, with
his wife, sought refuge in Ireland, in which coun-
try he died, leaving a son of the tender age of two
years.

DEWITTCLINTON. 17

James Clinton, the son, made an attempt, on
reaching the age of manhood, to regain the estate
of his father, sequestered by the commonwealth
for his adherence to the royal cause. Here he ex-
perienced the ingratitude which disgraced the res-
toration of the Stuarts. The estate was withheld
on plea of an act of limitation, and no indemnity
was granted to him. During his stay in England
in presenting his claims, he wooed and wedded
Elizabeth Smith, the daughter of an officer in the
army of the Parliament. The fortune of this lady
was sufficient to establish him respectably in Ire-
land, whither he returned on the failure of his
claim upon royal gratitude.

It is not to be questioned, that the denial of
what was no more than strict justice must have
lessened, in a great degree, the feelings of loyalty
to kings which James Clinton may have derived
from his parents. His children, in addition, drew
their maternal descent from the stern republicans
who had doomed a monarch to the block. We
therefore find Charles Clinton, his son, a dissenter
from the established religion, and in opposition to
the ruling party in Ireland.

While the revolution of 1689, and the accession
of the House of Hanover, established the privile-
ges of Englishmen on a surer foundation, Ireland
was treated as a conquered country, and ruled by
a small minority of her population upon princir

B2

18 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

pies of bigotry and intolerance. In order to es-
cape the annoyance and oppression arising from
this policy in the government, Charles Clinton, in
the 40th year of his age, resolved to emigrate to
North America. In this determination he was
joined by a number of friends and neighbours,
subject to the same disqualifications, who cluster-
ed around him as the leader of their enterprise.
Pennsylvania was the proposed object of the voy-
age on which they embarked from Dublin in May,
1729. From want of skill or fidelity in the mas-
ter of the vessel, the passage was prolonged to
the month of October, when the members of the
proposed colony were happy to be landed on the
bleak and inhospitable peninsula of Cape Cod.
In this disastrous voyage many of the passengers
perished, and Charles Clinton lost an only son
and one of his two daughters.

Their original intentions being thus frustrated,
Charles Clinton and his associates remained for a
time at Cape Cod, until a place of settlement
could be chosen. This was at last found in the
valley of the Walkill, in the present county of
Orange. To this they removed in the spring of
1731.

The choice of the land for this settlement re-
flects credit on the sagacity of Charles Clinton.
Up to this time the selection of lands had been
principally directed by their capacity for the growth

DEWITT CLINTON. 19

of grain. He, as the leader of a colony accustom-
ed to pastoral occupations rather than tillage,
sought for soil which should yield a rich and
abundant pasturage, and thus formed the nucleus
of that industrious body of Irish Presbyterians,
whose luxuriant fields of grass, and the valued
products of their milk, justify the scriptural appel-
lation of the land of Goshen, which has been
given to this pastoral region. Under the influ-
ence of that strong attachment to the land of their
ancestors, which was not destroyed until after
years of oppression and suffering, this colony gave
to their settlement the name of Little Britain.

In the early settlement of the Province of New-
York, it had been customary for bands of emigrants
to unite together under a leader for the purpose
of mutual defence and support. Such leaders
were, in many cases, persons of capital and enter-
prise, who sought, in the establishment of a colo-
ny, a profitable investment for themselves, in a
property entailed upon their descendants. The
policy of the early government, under both Bata-
vian and English rule, favoured this mode of set-
tlement ; and grants were made of large tracts to
the leaders, in order to be apportioned among their
followers upon tenures almost feudal in their char-
acter. In this there was no real injustice, because
much of the cost of the transportation of the emi-
grants from Europe was defrayed by the leader

20 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of the expedition, who also paid the fees, small
though they might be, attendant upon issuing the
patent, and extinguished the Indian claim. Such
tenures still exist among us; and the occupiers
of the land, forgetful of the circumstances under
which their predecessors acquired their possessions,
are apt to grumble at the moderate rents in kind,
and personal services, which serve, in fact, to pay
the cost of emigration and settlement. The com-
panions of Charles Clinton, although they looked
up to him as a leader, were not dependant in their
circumstances. The settlement at Little Britain
was therefore made on principles of strict equali-
ty, each head of a family acquiring in fee that por-
tion of land which his capital or his command of
labour enabled him to occupy to advantage. In
spite of this principle of equality, the superior in-
telligence and education of Charles Clinton gave
him a consideration among his neighbours as ele-
vated as if he had become possessed of manorial
rights.

Although distant no more than sixty miles from
New-York, and only eight from the bank of the
Hudson, the settlement of Little Britain was a
frontier post. The house of Charles Clinton was
therefore fortified, as a security, not for himself and
family alone, but as a refuge for his neighbours in
threatened attacks from Indian enemies.

In becoming an integral part of a well-govern-

DEWITT CLINTON. 21

ed community, the supremacy of the laws was to
be maintained, and he was forthwith named a jus-
tice of the peace. Before many years elapsed,
his usefulness in this capacity was extended by his
receiving the appointment of a judge of the Com-
mon Pleas for the county of Ulster, within the lim-
its of which Little Britain at that time fell.

These offices, which were then exercised without
emolument, and were, therefore, no object to those
who might otherwise have sought them as a means
of livehhood, furnish evidence of the high estima-
tion in which Charles Chnton was held by his
neighbours and by the government of the prov-
ince. In an age of little litigation, his judicial du-
ties did not interfere with the cultivation of his
farm, nor prevent his attention to the education of
his family. It has been seen that his first-born
son died on the passage from Europe. Four oth-
ers were born to him after his settlement at Little
Britain. The two eldest of these chose the pro-
fession of medicine, and the second of them served
as surgeon in the combined English and Conti-
nental army which took the Havannah in 1762.

James, the third son, was born in 1736, and
was educated under the paternal roof. When the
war of 1756 broke out, his father received the ap-
pointment of Keutenant-colonel in the militia of the
province, and the son was, at the same time, na-
med an ensign in his father's regiment. In these

22 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

capacities both were called into active service, and
were present at the capture of Fort Frontenac in
Upper Canada, on the site of the present town of
Kingston.

The fourth son was called George, after the co-
lonial governor of that name, who claimed and
admitted the ties of consanguinity with the settler
of the valley of the Walkill. George Clinton,
who held for so many years the office of governor
of the State of New-York, and died Vice-presi-
dent of the United States, is too well known in
American history to require to be commemorated
by us. He was also an officer at the capture of
Fort Frontenac.

James Clinton had attained, at the close of the
French war in 1761, the rank of captain, and
was successively promoted through the intermedi-
ate stations to the command of the second regi-
ment of Ulster county Militia, which he held at
the commencement of the struggle for independ-
ence. His father did not live to see that con-
test, but died in the year 1773. James Clinton,
in the interval between the close of the French
war and the beginning of that of the revolution,
married Miss Mary Dewitt, a descendant of a fam-
ily from Holland. Four sons were the fruit of this
union, of whom Dewitt, the subject of this Me-
moir, was the second. v<-<L

On the commencement of hostilities in 1775,

DEWITT CLINTON. 23

James Clinton was among the first officers who
were named by Congress to take commands in the
army raised under its authority. His first appoint-
ment was as colonel in the New-York line; he
was subsequently promoted to the rank of brio-a-
dier, and held the commission of major-general at
the close of the war. He distinguished himself in
the defence of the passes of the Highlands, when
stormed by the British army in 1777. In this ac-
tion he served under the command of his brother,
then commanding, as governor of the state, the
militia which had been called into active service,
while the British forces were led by Sir Henry
Clinton, the son of the colonial governor, in hon-
our of whom George had been named.

He afterward commanded the forces collected
in the Valley of the Mohawk to oppose the Indians
and Tories who threatened the settlements of that
region, and subsequently led his army to join that
of General Sullivan, in the expedition which drove
the Indians from their fastnesses. Of this united
army he commanded the right wing, and contrib-
uted much to the success of that undertaking. In
order to join Sullivan, it was necessary to make a
military road from the Mohawk at Fort Plain to
Lake Otsego. Here boats were to be built to con-
vey the troops with their stores, and, in order to
float them over the bars and shallows of the up-

24 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY,

per Susquehanna, a temporary flush of water was
obtained by damming up the outlet of the lake.

He last appeared in arms at the siege of York-
town, where he aided in the capture of Cornwal-
lis and his army.

At the close of the Revolutionary war General
James Clinton retired to his estate in Orange coun-
ty. Here, however, he was not suffered to remain
unemployed in the service of his native state, but
was frequently called upon to exercise offices of
high trust, and to perform legislative duties.

Such was the race from which the subject of
our memoir derived his birth ; and his own talents
and distinguished public services, so far from re-
quiring the aid of ancestral dignity to illustrate
him, would have ennobled the family from which
he sprung.

DEWITT CLINTON. 25

CHAPTER n.

Birth of Dewitt Clinton. — His early Education. —
He studies at the Kingston Academy. — He is
present at the Evacuation of Mew-York. — He
enters Columbia College. — Account of the Pro-
fessors of that Institution. — Clinton distinguish-
es himself as a Scholar, and graduates with the
highest honours.

Dewitt Clinton was born March 2d, 1769, at
Little Britain, the residence of his father, General
James Clinton. His early education was intrust-
ed to the Rev. Mr. Moffat, the pastor of the Pres-
byterian church in that settlement. In 1782 he
was removed to the Academy of Kingston, an in-
stitution at that time of high celebrity, under the
direction of a Mr. Addison. It was, in fact, the
only public school that had been able to maintain
its usefulness unimpaired during the revolutionary
war. The whole state, with the exception of a
small part in the neighbourhood of Albany, had
been the seat of active hostilities. The British
armies had penetrated from the north as far as Still-
water, and from the south nearly to the present site
of Hudson. Kingston itself had been sacked and
burned, but this caused no long suspension of the

26 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

operations of its academy, which an enlightened
pubhc spirit speedily re-edified. In the year 1784,
having mastered all the subjects taught at the
Kingston Academy, Dewitt Clinton was removed
from it by his father, for the purpose of entering
upon a more elevated course of study. For this
purpose the college at Princeton was selected, and
the son accompanied his father to New- York on
their way to that institution. General Clinton had
some months before taken a part in the ceremonial
of receiving possession of New-York from the
British troops. His son had then visited the city,
where he witnessed the final evacuation of that im-
portant position by those who had so long held it,
and shared in the joy of those who, after seven
years of exile, were restored to their homes and
household gods.

Thirty years before, a college had been estab-
lished, by royal charter, in the City of New-York.
This had been eminently successful in the produc-
tion of sound and elegant scholars ; and although
its usefulness had been narrowed by the attempt to
conduct it in conformity to the system of an estab-
lished church, and for the propagation of royalist
principles, it had, notwithstanding, trained some of
the most eminent men who had taken the part of
their country in the Revolutionary struggle. This
institution had been almost ruined by the war.
Its students and teachers had been driven out to

DEWITT CLINTON. 27

make room for the sick of the American army ; its
president chased from his post by a mob, enraged
at his warm and vigorous support of the British
cause ; its hbrary, then the most complete on the
Continent, wasted and dispersed ; its apparatus
and museum destroyed. The occupation of New-
York by the British forces did not mend its con-
dition. Thus, while Cambridge, Princeton, Phil-
adelphia, and Williamsburg had in succession
become the quarters of armies, or the actual seat of
hostilities, without sustaining any injury to their
well-endowed universities, that of New-York had
been almost obliterated.

The circumstances in which young Clinton was
placed were the direct means of reviving this de-
cayed institution. The nephew of the governor of
the state and the son of one of its most distinguish-
ed citizens, it appeared to be a public disgrace
that he should be compelled to resort to another
state for his education. It was therefore deter-
mined to attempt to reopen the deserted halls of
the college in New-York. A lucky chance per-
mitted this to be done under the auspices of men
of no little learning.

On the close of hostilities, the inhabitants of
one of the counties of Virginia had resolved to re-
store a deserted academy of that state. For this
purpose they had addressed themselves to Dr. Ogil-
vie, of Aberdeenshire, in Scotland j and, at his in-

28 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

stance, two young men of high promise and much
learning had crossed the Atlantic. On reaching
Virginia, they found that the inducements which
had been held out to them were unfounded, and
that no provision had been made for their comfort-
able support. Thus disappointed in their expecta-
tions, they had reached New- York on their return
to their native country, the one burning with in-
dignation and disgusted with everything American,
the other in sorrow at leaving a country for whose
people and institutions he had conceived an attach-
ment. In this state of mind they were found by
Mr. Duane, the mayor of the city ; and while the
former not only declined for himself, but endeav-
oured to dissuade his companion, the latter joyful-
ly accepted a call which promised the attainment
of his desires.

This young Scotsman whom chance thus pre-
sented was the late John Kemp, LL.D., who for
28 years after was the soul of the institution, to
which, in lieu of its former style of King's, the
name of Columbia College was now given. The
son of a father who had lost his property by his
adherence to the cause of the Stuarts, he had been
brought up by an uncle. While a student in the
University of Aberdeen, he had competed for, and,
after three days of hard contest, gained the prize
of mathematical learning. The most valuable
part of this distinction was the right of receiving

DEWITT CLINTON. 29

the instructions of the mathematical professor du-
ring the long vacations of seven months, which
interrupt the courses of the Scottish Universities.

The professor at that time was Hamilton, who
outlived his pupil, and distinguished the close of
his life by the publication of his celebrated argu-
ment against the popular belief, that a debt did
not diminish the wealth of a nation. In this place
we have only time to say, that this argument, which
carried with it immediate conviction, may be con-
sidered as having been the distant cause of the
long peace which has continued among civilized
nations since the downfall of Napoleon.

Dr. Kemp was not unworthy of the privileges
which his previous proficiency had gained for him,
and left college one of the best mathematicians of
the age. His other attainments were also great :
he was an excellent classical scholar, and had
mastered all the physical knowledge of the day.

Another fortunate chance secured to Columbia
College the services of the Rev. Wm. Cochran,
a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, a sound
and excellent classical scholar. The revived insti-
tution had also the benefit of the services of Ben-
jamin Moore, afterward the right reverend bishop
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the state.
This gentleman, distinguished for his sound learn-
ing, his fine taste, and his persuasive eloquence,
was a model of mild courtesy, and often succeeded

C2

30 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

in enforcing discipline by an appeal to feelings of
honour and sense of character, when harsh meas-
ures would have been unavailable. His important
duties in the organization of his church, and the
high responsibility of the station to which he was
speedily elevated, withdrew him from the labours
of education. After some years he was restored
to the college in the capacity of its chief officer,
but without any share in its active tuition ; and
under his rule the institution rose to a high degree
of prosperity, from which it fell for a time under
the administration of an officer, whose high abili-
ties and learning were not tempered by the pru-
dence and caution for which Bishop Moore was so
eminent.

Dr. Moyes, who filled the chair of Natural His-
tory and Chemistry, had the misfortune to be
blind ; yet his lectures were popular and instruct-
ive. He had the high merit of being the first to
introduce the latter science into the United States,
freed from the dreams of alchymy. It was, how-
ever, still in its infancy, and the brilliant discoveries
of Lavoisier were not yet received or even comple-
ted. Hence, in after life, Clinton found the neces-
sity of keeping up with the progress of this sci-
ence, of which even the language in which he
had studied it was entirely changed. This labour,
however irksome, he encountered.

The faculty of the college was completed by

DEWITT CLINTON. 3l

the appointment of Samuel Bard, M.D., to the
chair of Natural Philosophy, and of Dr. Grose to
that of Metaphysical Science.

Of this faculty, Messrs. Kemp and Cochran
alone devoted their whole time to the business of
their chairs. The other gentlemen had, in addi-
tion, other professional pursuits. This was for the
moment favourable ; for they were men of high
eminence and learning, who were collected by the
wants of the growing city, and were thus enabled
to afford their valuable services, at a time when
the dilapidated state of the finances of the college,
and the limited number of the pupils, would not
have permitted the call of persons of equal attain-
ments for the specific duty.

The organization that was at this time attempt-
ed of a university, which, with the college of New-
York as its centre, was intended to include all the
public seminaries of the state, was a plan of much
promise, and, had it been pursued in the spirit of
those who proposed it, might have been attended
with incalculable advantage. It is remarkable,
that it seems to have been the model on which,
some years later, the University of France was
framed ; and that has been pre-eminently success-
ful. The two projects, however, differed in one
essential feature. The central administration of
the University of France is, indeed, presided over
by a minister of state, but it includes m its body

32 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

men who have risen to it by success as teach-
ers; the board of regents of the University of the
State of New- York is elected by the Legislature,
and, from the first, all men of practical skill in in-
struction seem to have been carefully excluded.

We need only say, the scheme was not carried
into effect. Columbia College was soon withdrawn
from all but the nominal jurisdiction of the regents ;
and no unity of purpose or action exists among the
colleges and academies of the state. Finally, on
the establishment of the school fund, it was not
considered expedient to vest its management in
that board, which, had it been efficient, would have
seemed to be the proper organ for dispensing the
public bounty.

Dewitt Chnton was the first matriculated stu-
dent of the college, re-established in the manner
we have mentioned, and was admitted to the ju-
nior class. The instructions of the able teachers
who have been named were not without their ef-
fect upon the future character and services of Clin-
ton. In no well-conducted institution would he
have failed to become a distinguished scholar ; but
there were certain views and principles which he
could not, at that time, have heard discussed in
any other institution. Dr. Kemp, the favourite
pupil of Professor Hamilton, was in the habit, in
his mathematical course, of enforcing the yet un-
published views of his master on the subject of

DEWITT CLINTON. 33

public debts ; and urging the necessity of provi-
ding for every debt contracted a sum sufficient not
only to defray the interest, but to pay off the prin-
cipal by an annuity. In his lectures in illustra-
tion of the mechanical part of natural philosophy,
he prided himself on giving to every subject a
practical bearing, and thus the principles and his-
tory of canal navigation formed a favourite theme.
He, in particular, insisted on the necessity of aban-
doning all attempts to improve the navigation of
small rivers, and of substituting canals for the
whole distance; illustrating his position by the
celebrated saying of Bradley, that such streams
*^ were intended by the Almighty for feeding ca-
nals." At the time that Clinton was his pupil, his
acquaintance with the topography of the United
States would not probably have enabled him to
have formed the clear and lucid views he was sub-
sequently in the habit of expressing, in relation to
the capacities of the State of New-York for inland
navigation. These became afterward a matter of
public record, in a letter he addressed to his friend
Dr. Beattie. In this he points out the possibility
of a canal navigation from Oswego to Albany, and
an extension to the West by the Seneca River to
the heads of the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes.
Among the number of his pupils who were dis-
tributed throughout the State of New-York, these
views had made a deep impression, and had a de-

34 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

cided influence in preparing the public mind for
the system which was finally adopted. In the
mind of Clinton, the financial arguments and true
principles of internal improvement enforced by his
teacher, may naturally have formed the basis of
the sound and enlightened views which subse-
quently directed his conduct. If they did no more,
they must have had the effect of exciting his curi-
osity, and leading him to study for himself those
principles of finance and systems of internal im-
provement to which his attention was directed by
his instructer.

During the two years Clinton remained as a stu-
dent in Columbia College, he distinguished him-
self by a marked superiority over all his fellows.
This superiority has, w^ith a pardonable pride,
been alluded to by his instructer. Dr. Cochran, in
a letter to Dr. Hosack, the eulogist of Clinton. "I
found Mr. Clinton apt to learn anjiihing that was
required of him. He was clear in mathematics,
and correct in classical knowledge. He did eve-
rything well : upon the whole, he seemed likely to
me to prove, as he did prove, a highly useful and
practical man : what the Romans call civilis, and
the Greeks TroXtriKog, a useful citizen, and quali-
fied to counsel and direct his fellow-citizens to
honour and happiness. And now, in conclusion, I
cannot but feel self-gratulation and pride, I hope
a virtuous one, when I reflect on the number of

DEWITT CLINTON. 35

eminent persons that have proceeded from the very
cradle of Columbia College. Draw, at a venture,
from the old and illustrious seminaries of England
and Ireland, the same number of names as we had
on our books, and I will venture to affirm that they
will not be superior to such men as Governor
Chnton, Chancellor Jones, the Rev. Dr. John M.
Mason, and some others."

In conversation Dr. Cochran thus spoke of the
early talent of Chnton. " I hear," said he, " that
his political opponents call him, by way of reproach,
magnus Apollo. If he have not degenerated from
what I knew him as a boy, he is well entitled to
the appellation as a title of honour."

Clinton's academic career closed in 1786, when
he received the usual degree of bachelor of arts,
taking, at the commencement, the highest honour
which the institution could bestow. He left to his
successors, as students in Columbia College, an
example of steadiness, diligence, and moral excel-
lence, which is the more meritorious, as many
young men in his position might have been incli-
ned to idleness, from the feeling that their family
had already reached a station which would exempt
them from labour; and to insubordination, from the
knowledge that their teachers held office during
the pleasure of their nearest connexions.

It is not to be concealed, that there was one oc-
casion on which a dispute arose between the stu-

36 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

dents and one of the professors of the college, and
that Clinton was put forward as the champion of
his associates, on whose behalf he wrote a com-
plaint to the Board of Regents, by which the af-
fairs of the college were then administered. This
address is marked with precocious ability, but had
no effect on the proceedings of that board, which
sustained the professor in what the students con-
sidered an unwarrantable exercise of authority du-
ring hours not devoted to collegiate duty. It is
mutually to the credit of the teacher and his pu-
pil, that the prominent position in which Clinton
was placed on this occasion had no effect upon his
standing in his class. The collision had the effect
of establishing the character of the teacher for
fearlessness and decision; and so little was his
course blamed by the friends and family of Clin-
ton, that the immediate superintendence of the
studies of his younger brothers, and of his cousins,
the sons of the governor, was intrusted to the
professor against whose conduct Dewitt Clinton
had penned the remonstrance.

DEWITT CLINTON. 37

CHAPTER m.

Clinton enters upon the Study of the Law, and is
admitted to its Practice. — He is appointed Pri-
vate Secretary to his Uncle the Governor. — His
Career as a Political Writer. — He retires to Pri-
vate Life, and applies himself to Scientific Pur-
suits.— He 7narries. — Character of his Wife.

Upon leaving college Clinton entered immediate-
ly upon the study of the law. For this purpose he
was placed in the office of the Hon. Samuel Jones,
who at that time held a high rank at the bar of
the State of New- York. This learned jurist had
taken no active part in the war of revolution;
and, from his quiet acquiescence in the sway ex-
erted by England over the counties occupied by
her armies, had even been accused of the senti-
ments called Tory. Like many others in the same
position, this acquiescence arose from no hostile feel-
ing to the cause of independence, but from the ne-
cessity of the case. Enveloped, with their famihes,
by an armed force, and cut off' from all communi-
cation with their countrymen, they had no choice
but submission. On the evacuation of New-York,
Mr. Jones resumed his profession, and took at once
the highest place among the barristers of the day.

D

38 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

His legal eminence descended to his sons ; one of
whom has reached the high office of chancellor of
the state, and still presides in one of the most im-
portant courts. The intimacy between the families
of Jones and Chnton, whether renewed or grooving
out of the position in w^hich young Clinton was
placed, has continued, from that time, and has
been cemented by more than one intermarriage.

The routine of a lawyer's office affords little op-
portunity for the exhibition of more than steady
industry, and in this respect both the teacher and
scholar appear to have been mutually satisfied
with each other. Practice in forensic disputation
was sought by Clinton in an association of young
men, engaged, like himself, in legal studies j and
here he held a prominent rank among many who
afterward attained to excellence in various ways.
His admission to the bar took place after the usual
course of three years' study, and the examination
prescribed by law. He was not, however, permit-
ted to try his' success in the practice of that pro-
fession, although his friends foretold him a brill-
iant career. His uncle, the governor of the state,
at a period of great political excitement, had need
of a person both of great capacity and unques-
tioned fidelity as secretary. This post had been
filled by the elder brother of Dewitt Clinton, who
was unfortunately drowned in the Hudson. On
the death of this brother, in order to serve his rel-

DE WITT CLINTON. 39

ative and efficient patron, he consented to forego
the hopes of a profession which, in his hands,
promised both to be productive of great emolu-
ment and a road to distinction. It has been re-
marked of EngUsh legislators, that, however ne-
cessary may be the mere study of the laws, and
particularly that of the constitution of their coun-
try, to those who aim at political eminence, none
who have become entangled in its practice have
distinguished themselves as statesmen. The rea-
son is obvious ; the necessity of confining them-
selves to one side of a cause creates a habit of
viewing a subject in a single light, and in its de-
tails rather than in its broad and general bearings.
The nice refinements of special pleading are un-
suited to the ears of a popular assembly, and are
repugnant even to the taste of a dehberative body.

It was, therefore, fortunate for his country, and
particularly to his native state, that Clinton aban-
doned so early the profession of the law, and en-
tered into the career of politics. Whether it were
equally so to his own happiness may well be ques-
tioned. The hfe of CUnton was from this moment
one of political strife, into which he threw all the
force of his ardent temperament and brilhant tal-
ents, and in which he acquired but few disinter-
ested and really attached friends, and made many
bitter enemies.

We have already stated that he accepted the of-

40 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

iice of private secretary to his uncle at a time of
great excitement. The question of the adoption
of the federal constitution in the place of the old
confederation had just been settled. His uncle
had been opposed to many of the details of that
measure, and had resisted it with all his influence
to the moment when farther opposition would have
become factious. If w^e look to the progress in
wealth and population which New-York has made
since that period, a progress due not more to the
blessings of a stable government than to its own
unrivalled position, we may ascribe to George
Clinton the gift of prescience. He may have seen
that his state was destined to take the first rank in
the confederacy ; its chief city to be the emporium
of the commerce of the Continent ; and, imbued
with the attachment to state rights which has
again become so popular, may have patriotically
desired to secure to the commonwealth over which
he presided the advantages which nature had pre-
pared for it. If we were to investigate the results
which would have followed, had the proposition
which was strongly urged by many been acceded
to, namely, that a general and uniform tariff of
duties should be adopted throughout the confeder-
ation, of which each state should receive into its
own treasury that which was collected within its
Hmits, how proud would have been the position of
New-York. In its chief port are collected half the

B E W I T T C L I N T O N. 4|

revenues from customs of the whole union ; and it
would have attained this pre-eminence years earli-
er than it actually did. Philadelphia would not
have been enabled to rival it so long by the in-
fluence of capital collected in its two successive na-
tional banks, and all other cities must have sunk
in the comparison.

The State of New-York also had no ill-founded
claim to the whole of the territory north of the
42d degree of latitude, as far west as the Missis-
sippi. This claim seemed to have been considered
as unquestionable so long as the colonial govern-
ment lasted, and is exhibited upon the maps of
that day. The adverse claim of Massachusetts
covered but a narrow strip, and New-Yoiii cut her
off from the lands in dispute. No state, therefore,
yielded so much to the union as New-York. That
many true patriots should have hesitated in muti-
lating the sovereignty under which such revenues
w-ere in prospect, and which might have maintain-
ed its land-claims by force if necessary, is not to
be wondered at.

It happened, luckily, however, that a more ex-
tended sense of patriotism prevailed, w^hich embra-
ced not states or separate interests of even wider
influence, but the whole of that people which had
stood side by side in the war of independence. But
let not those who now wage political warfare on
sectional grounds — who speak of an Eastern and a

D2

42 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Western interest — who advocate abolition because
it will injure the South, or a system of finance that
will injure the North, impeach the patriotism of
those opposed to the federal constitution. The
modern politicians seek to cause a division in inter-
ests which are already united, and whose severance
would create the most disastrous consequences ; the
anti-federalists sought to perpetuate an existing
state of things, from any change in which they
erroneously anticipated evil.

The discussion on the subject of the constitution
was carried on in the public papers. The cause
which prevailed was sustained by the veteran pen
of Jay, the strong and clear intellect of Hamilton,
and the cool sagacity of Madison. At this day it
is unnecessary to say how triumphant were their
arguments, and how thoroughly the able exposi-
tion of the constitution contained in the papers col-
lected under the name of " The Federalist" has
become a part of the common law of the land.
Yet this powerful publication was not allowed to
remain unanswered, and the most able of the op-
posing arguments were found in papers bearing
the signature of " A Countryman." These were
the production of Clinton, and carried conviction
to a large proportion of the voters of the State of
New-York. If we cannot now assent to the jus-
tice of his views, we may, notwithstanding, admire
the boldness which did not shrink from a contest

DEWITT CLINTON. 43

with writers of such transcendent reputation, and
the abihty which to many minds appeared to have
gained a victory over them.

In the state convention which was assembled
to consider the new constitution, for the purpose of
its being ratified or rejected by New-York, General
James Clinton had a seat, and Governor Geoi-ge
Clinton presided. In this assembly broad feelings
of patriotism prevailed over the grounds which had
been the basis of an opposition to the adoption
of the constitution. Dewitt Clinton was present
at the meetings of the convention, and reported its
debates for one of the city papers. His letters, at
the time, show him to have been in principle an
anti-federalist. Mature reflection in after days
changed his views on this subject ; and his official
letter to the mayor of Philadelphia, on the occa-
sion of the death of Hamilton, shows how com-
pletely satisfied he had then become of the wis-
dom which directed the framers of the constitution
of the United States.

The adoption of the constitution led to the for-
mation of parties upon principles entirely new.
The anti-federalists acquiesced in the declared will
of the majority, and dropped their distinctive ap-
pellation ; nor did the paramount influence of
Washington, in his office of president, admit of
the formation of an opposition upon the ancient
grounds. Those who accepted representative of-

44 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

fices under the new constitution would have form-
ed an opposition to the administration with an ill
grace, on the ground of their being dissatisfied
with the provisions of that instrument. A ques-
tion on which to organize an opposition was, how-
ever, speedily found in the state of the external re-
lations of the country. . It is foreign to our pur-
pose to enter into the questions of the mission of
Genet, and the commercial treaty made with Eng-
land by Jay. Suffice it to say, that on these ques-
tions George Clinton placed himself in the oppo-
sition to the general government. Into this posi-
tion he was, perhaps, as much driven by attacks
upon himself by the federal party, as impelled by
his own sentiments. The supporters of the federal
constitution, dissatisfied with the opposition made
by George Clinton to its adoption, sought a new
candidate for the office of governor in the person
of Chief-justice Jay, and nearly succeeded in elect-
ing him. He, in fact, received a clear majority of
all the votes, but was not returned by the canvass-
ers for want of a strict compliance with the pre-
scribed legal forms. In the published discussions
which grew out of this contest in the State of
New-York, and in the opposition to the foreign
policy of the general government, the pen of
Clinton found full occupation in the support of his
uncle's cause. However ephemeral were his es-
says, which appeared in anonymous forms, and

DEWITT CLINTON. 45

however umvilling he may have been in after hfe
to avow his juvenile efforts as a poUtical gladiator,
he acquired the reputation of a most pow^erful and
efficient writer. So high was this reputation, that
every paper of unusual merit which appeared on
the side which he espoused was ascribed to him as
the author, and he thus was often wrongfully sus-
pected of personal and illiberal attacks, from which
his own manly nature would have shrunk with ab-
horrence.

In 1794, while the aggressions of the two great
beUigerants of Europe upon our commerce threat-
ened to involve the United States in a war with one
of them, Dewitt Clinton united with several other
young men in the formation of a company of vol-
unteer artillery. Of this he was chosen lieutenant,
and soon became the captain. The company form-
ed a part of the regiment commanded by Colonel
Bauman, a corps even yet remembered for its sol-
dierlike deportment and exemplary discipline. In
this corps he rose to the rank of major.

While acting as private secretary to his uncle,
he was also called to fill the stations of secretary
to the regents of the University, and to a board of
commissioners who had charge of fortifying the
harbour of New^-York at the expense of the state.
These appointments show that he already filled a
higher place in the estimation of the community
than is usually reached by the young men who

46 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

hold the confidential but unimportant place of pri-
vate secretary to a governor. All these appoint-
ments ceased when his uncle failed in securing a
re-election to the office of governor in 1795. The
federal party now predominated beyond all possi-
bility of question ; and John Jay, the chief justice
of the United States, was elected in the room of
George Clinton.

Dewitt Clinton was thus restored to private life,
and ceased to have any engrossing pursuit. He,
in consequence, sought to re-establish himself in
the profession of the law, and entered into a part-
nership with Mr. John McKesson for that purpose.
The business which presented itself was respect-
able, and promised to increase rapidly ; but, long
before the slow steps by w^hich young men ac-
quire celebrity at the bar could be accomplished,
he was again recalled to political life. He, how-
ever, made use of this interval of leisure to apply
himself to the study of th'e sciences, in which he
had already made some progress, and for which he
had a decided taste. The direction which he took
in this pursuit was influenced in a great de'gree by
his intimacy with Drs. Hosack and Mitchill. The
former was at this time professor of botany, the lat-
ter professor of chemistry in Columbia College. The
latter, in addition, was almost the only cultivator
of the science of zoology the United States then
possessed. In compliance with the pursuits of his

DEWITT CLINTON. 47

two associates, natural history, in its several branch-
es, became the object of his studies. In this de-
partment of knowledge he made no mean profi-
ciency ; and it is not a little remarkable, that, while
the two professors added no very important facts
to science, the amateur, as we shall see, made dis-
coveries, one of which, at least, was of great in-
terest.

During the same interval Clinton entered into a
matrimonial connexion. The lady whom he mar-
ried was Miss Maria Frankhn, the daughter of an
eminent merchant in New-York of the Quaker
persuasion. This union v^as a happy one, but was
dissolved in 1818 by the death of Mrs. Clinton,
who left a family of four sons and three daughters.

Mrs. Clinton was a lady of retiring and domes-
tic habits ; ill-suited, perhaps, to advance the po-
litical interests of her husband, but better qualified,
for that very reason, to be his solace in the con-
stant anxieties and occasional reverses to which
he was exposed in his political career. Her worth
may be best illustrated by the tender recollection
and high esteem with which her children still re-
gard the amiable qualities and virtues of their
mother. She w^as a warm-hearted, accomplished,
and most amiable woman, devoted to the happiness
of her husband and children, and her death was
an irreparable loss to her family.

We have thus passed the period of Clinton's tu-

48 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

telage, whether literary or poHtical. Up to this
time he had, in the latter respect, been the agent
and mouthpiece of his uncle the governor ; we
have next to contemplate him aspiring to eminence
under the direction of his own intellect.

DEWITT CLINTON. 49

CHAPTER rv.

State of Parties under the Administration of Ad-
ams.— Clinton is elected a Member of Assem-
bly.— He is chosen Senator of the State. — He
becomes a Member of the Council of Appoint-
ment.— Contest in respect to the Powers of that
Council. — State Convention. — His Victory over
Jay. — He is elected a Senator of the United
States, where he is opposed to Gouverneur Mor-
ris.— Debate on the Mississippi Question. — ■
Clinton^s Speech on that occasion. — He acquires
a high Reputation as a Statesman.

The federal party, which acquired the superiori-
ty in the State of New-York in 1795, seemed des-
tined to an ascendency of unlimited duration.
Looking proudly to Washington himself as their
leader, their principles seemed indissolubly united
with the honour and prosperity of their country.
The sympathy with which the cause of the French
revolution had for a time been regarded by many
American citizens, had been replaced, to a great
degree, by disgust at the insolent pretensions of
the rulers of that country, and resentment for their
aggressions. It thus happened, that, when John
Adams succeeded Washington in the presidential

E

50 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

chair, the nation was urged by a feeling almost
universal into hostilities with France; and, al-
though no absolute declaration of war was made
on either side, the commerce of the United States
was attacked wherever it was accessible by French
cruisers and privateers ; while measures were adopt-
ed for the defence of the seacoast by fortifications
and the creation of a navy. A more questionable
step was taken by the administration in the enlist-
ment of an army, which, in the opinion of many,
was uncalled for, because our shores were, in fact,
inaccessible to any French force more powerful
than a single vessel.

Experience has shown us, that the measures of
providing a naval armament and an army on a
peace establishment, which might have served as
the nucleus of an efficient force in war, were both
wise. It was also a sagacious step to take ad-
vantage of the excitement produced by French
aggressions, to obtain the public consent to these
important means of national security. They were,
however, seized by the opponents of the adminis-
tration as objects of attack. So long as the pop-
ular excitement against France remained, the at-
tacks of the opposition were fruitless ; but when
Adams, in an evil hour for his party, humbled him-
self and his country before the French Directory,
all enthusiasm was at an end.

It would appesff that not only Chnton himself,

DEWITT CLINTON. 51

but his uncle, had partaken of the popular feeling.
When^the citizens of New-York turned out to la-
bour on the fortifications for the defence of their
harbour, old George Clinton was seen among them,
encouraging their toils by his example ; and De-
witt Clinton was daily engaged in drilling his
company to the use of the heavy guns mounted on
the battery.

The attempt of the administration to maintain a
regular army after the danger of war was at an end,
the load of obloquy which was poured upon the
nav}^, but still more the necessity of imposing tax-
es, coupled with laws construed as interfering with
the right of personal liberty, speedily rendered it
unpopular. The party with which the Clintons
were connected acquired the ascendency, and Jef-
ferson was elected president of the United States.
Even while the victory was yet doubtful, partial
successes were gained by the party in opposition
to Mr. Adams. In 1797 Dewitt Clinton was
elected a member of the Legislature, and in 1798
state Senator. In this capacity he was chosen, in
1800, a member of the council of appointment,
and was engaged in a contest with Governor Jay.
The state constitution had, in addition to two le-
gislative bodies, provided two councils to aid the
governor in his executive and legislative capaci-
ties. The one was styled that of appointment,
with whose concurrence and advice all offices

52 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

were to be filled ; the other that of revision, to
which all laws were to be submitted. Governor
Jay, who had, in 1798, been elected by a tri-
umphant vote, was now opposed by a majority in
both houses of the Legislature ; and the council of
appointment, which was chosen from the Senate,
was of the dominant party. At the meeting of
this council, Clinton asserted for himself and col-
leagues the equal right of naming the candidates,
and of proposing the removal of the holders of of-
fice. Jay, on the other hand, maintained that the
sole right of nomination was vested in the govern-
or, and that the council had no other powers but
those of confirmation and rejection. In order to
prevent the council from acting in conformity with
the views of its majority. Jay resorted to the bold
measure of adjourning their meeting, and refusing
to call them together. He then submitted the
question to the Legislature, asking for an explan-
atory law ; but that body, under the impression
that it possessed no powers in the premises, recom-
mended the call of a convention for the purpose
of deciding the question. The convention assem-
bled, and the views of Chnton prevailed.

We therefore have no reason to doubt that his
opinion was founded on a correct interpretation of
the words of the constitution, although, as Jay
himself had prepared the original draught, it is cer-
tain that such was not the intention of its framers.

DEWITT CLINTON. 53

It may now be conceded, that in this dispute Clin-
ton was actuated by the motive of securing the su-
premacy of his party, as well as that of obtaining
a signal victory in argument over a distinguished
and able adversary ; and, in the ardour of his strug-
gle for superiority, neglected to examine the prob-
able consequences. It has even been said, that the
course he took was not approved by his uncle, who
looked upon the subject through the calmer medi-
um of age and experience. The victory he ob-
tained in the construction of the constitution over
a man of such eminence and high reputation as
a jurist as Jay, is, however, calculated to give us
an elevated opinion of his talent and legal learn-
ing, however we may be disposed to question his
prudence.

It is due to the truth of history to say, that the
consequences of this decision were injurious to the
pubhc interests, and were the cause of that bit-
terness of party spirit which has made the citizens
of other states stigmatize the politics of New-York
as ferocious. From this partisan rage no one suf-
fered more severely than Dewitt Clinton, both in
his own person and those of his friends.

It appears by written memoranda in his own
hand, that his views of the proper mode of action
under the new construction of the constitution was,
that the offices of the state should be divided be-
tween the two opposing parties in the ratio of their

E2

54 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

respective numbers. On this principle lie acted,
when he led the majority of the council of ap-
pointment; and, could it have become the habitual
custom, it would have prevented all the objection-
able consequences of the measure. But that a
triumphant party should pause in the progress of
removing its opponents after it has obtained the
power, is not to be expected, although there have
been individuals who, when the appointing honour
was vested in them, have had firmness enough to
refuse to gratify their supporters at the expense of
the removal of persons who were faitlifully per-
forming their official duties.

The effect of this construction of the constitu-
tion was to secure the rule of the State of New-
York to the democratic party, and, for a time, to
give to Clinton absolute supremacy. This party
had secured the continuance of its first successes
by a system of discipline of the most rigid and
efficient character. All who numbered themselves
as its members were required to yield implicit obe-
dience to the will of its majority; that majority was
made to move at the beck of committees, which
concentrated the power in the hands of a few in-
dividuals. Denunciation as a traitor was the fate
of him who ventured to act in conformity to his
individual opinion, when it did not meet with the
general sanction. So powerful was this system of
organization, that all opposition finally ceased; and

DEWITT CLINTON. 55

the only question was, which of two divisions was
in reahty the democratic party. Thus the sup-
porters of Burr and of Lewis, in their quest of the
office of governor, and of John Quincy Adams for
a second term of the presidency, claimed to be the
same republican party which chose the first as Vice-
President of the United States, and the two others
to their first term of office.

Clinton's talent lay in the power of open and
bold attacks against his adversaries, and in the ca-
pacity of maintaining his cause by strong and well-
arranged argument, not in the management of the
intrigues which are necessary to unite into one ex-
pression various conflicting opinions. In the cab-
inet and in the council, he possessed a command-
ing and prevailing eloquence ; in the management
of individual temper and in popular arts, he was
deficient. It thus happened that men of less talent,
but of more address, secured to themselves the
power of directing the movement of the party even
Avhile he was its admitted chief; and when its
measures became such as his conscience would not
permit him to support, he became the victim of
party usage.

As we have been compelled to refer to the con-
test between Clinton and Jay in relation to the
council of appointment, it is proper to state, that,
before the death of that distinguished statesman,
a perfect reconciliation took place between them.

56 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Their estrangement had been that of party alone ;
and personal feeling, if perhaps inseparable from
opposition of so violent a character, was speedily
allayed. Jay appeared no more in the field of
political warfare, but his children w^ere subsequent-
ly ranked among the political and personal friends
of Clinton.

While a member of the Assembly, Clinton was
in the minority of that body, and in opposition not
only to the executive of his own state, but to the
administration of the general government. His
course, however, was not marked by the charac-
ter of faction. On the question of a request to the
governor to write to the senators and representa-
tives of the state to endeavour to obtain a repeal of
the Stamp Act, he voted in the negative ; thus set-
ting at naught the cry of his party, which had
adroitly connected this mode of collecting revenue
with the obnoxious measure of the British Parlia-
ment bearing the same name.

So, also, when he took his seat in the Senate of
the state, he cordially concurred in the address to
President Adams, pledging the support of the state
to the maintenance of the national honour against
French aggression.

Of the acts whose passage he was instrumental
in obtaining, the most important in its consequen-
ces was that for the gradual abolition of slavery ;
a measure which has been productive of incalcu-

DEWITT CLINTON. 57

lable benefit to the state, and which, although fa-
voured by Governor Jay, he had not ventured to
recommend in his speeches to the legislature. He
also moved a resolution proposing the amendment
which was soon after made in the Constitution of
the United States, by which the President and
Vice-President are designated in the electoral vote.

When his authority over the dominant party of
the state was in its acme, he was elected Senator
of the United States. This high rank he attained
in 1801, when but 32 years old, being one of the
youngest men who have ever taken their seat in
that august body. His colleague from the State
of New- York was Gouverneur Morris, who still re-
tained all the vigour of his faculties, and had, in
addition, the advantage of long experience as a
statesman and a political debater. A member of
the old Congress, he had filled with distinguished
ability offices of the highest trust under the fed-
eral constitution, and was, in the Senate of the
United States, the most eloquent, if not the most
powerful supporter of the principles of the federal
party. Clinton was thus placed in immediate op-
position, and brought into direct contrast with this
veteran debater. In this severe trial, it is sufficient-
for the honour of Clinton to say that he was not
worsted.

The public opposition of these distinguished men
did, on more than one occasion, take the form of

58 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

almost personal attack; but in their cooler mo-
ments, each felt the ability and acknowledged the
sincerity of his antagonist. It thus happened that
the very circumstances of party opposition, which
brought into direct contact men who might other-
wise have been estranged, led to an intimate and
sincere friendship, the result of mutual esteem and
admiration. Of these two remarkable statesmen,
Clinton, although the youngest, was the most
sound and the most practicaTpMorris, although of
maturer years, exhibited more of an almost youth-
ful ardour.

The most important debate which occmTed in
the Senate while Clinton remained a member, was
that on the question of the navigation of the Mis-
sissippi. By a treaty with Spain, made in 1795,
the right of the United States to navigate that riv-
er had been admitted, " from its source to the sea ;"
and, in addition, the privilege of depositing mer-
chandise in the port of New-Orleans had been
granted for the period of three years. The same
treaty contained a promise that this permission
should be continued, or an equivalent establishment
assigned to the citizens of the United States on an-
other part of the banks of the Mississippi.

Without any notice or the assignment of the
promised equivalent, this right was withdrawn by
the local Spanish authorities ; and all trade with
American vessels navigating the Mississippi was
interdicted.

DEWITTCLINTON. 59

The sensation produced by this act among the
growing* population of the West was prodigious,
and the leaders of the opposition in Congress saw
in it an opportunity for regaining the popularity
which their party had lost under the adminstration
of Mr. Adams. A series of resolutions was moved
in the Senate by Mr. Ross, of Pennsylvania, which
amounted to a declaration of war against Spain.
These resolutions were opposed by Mr. Breck-
enridge, who moved a substitute, authorizing the
calling out of 80,000 militia, and the estabhsh-
ment of arsenals on the Western waters.

In the debate which ensued, Clinton took a de-
cided lead on the side of the administration. His
speech delivered on this occasion is remarkable for
its sound and luminous exposition of the state of
the question, and of the principles of international
law which were applicable to it. It furnished the
basis of the speeches of the other friends of the
administration, and its arguments met with no sat-
isfactory reply from the opposition. The latter
party, however, directed against Clinton the weap-
ons of invective and irony, for which his compara-
tive youth furnished the material. One of the
senators from New-Jersey descended to taunting
language, while Clinton's colleague veiled his at-
tack under the guise of compHment to his impress-
ive eloquence, and the ingenuous glow on his
youthful cheek.

60 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Clinton continued for two years in the Senate of
the United States, and his reputation for abihty as
a statesman, formerly confined to the limits of his
native state, became national. He was on all
sides looked up to as the most rising man in the
Union, and may reasonably have seen in perspect-
ive the highest honours in the gift of the people.
The close of his senatorial duties was attended
by a controversy of a very disagreeable character
with one of the senators from New-Jersey ; and of
all the mere political contests in which Clinton
was engaged, this alone seems to have left any im-
pression of resentment on his mind. We find him
referring to the name of his opponent many years
afterward, although not with anger, yet in a man-
ner which shows that the circumstance was not
forgotten. Whatever opinion may now be formed
of the merits of this controversy, no doubt can be
entertained that it was provoked by the senator from
New-Jersey, and that at a time when a generous
antagonist would have cautiously abstained from
attack, as it was made after it had become known
that Clinton had accepted the mayoralty of New-
York, and was therefore about to leave the Senate
of the United States.

DEWITT CLINTON. 61

CHAPTER V.

Clinton is appointed Mayor of the City of jYew-
York.— Important Duties of that Office.— His
successive Reappoimtmejits and Removals.— Fluc-
tuations of Vmiy.— Causes of his Decline in
Popularity.— His great AUlity as a Criminal
Judge. — The College Riot.— His Energy as
Head of the Police. — Threatened Riots pre-
ventedhy his Measures of Precaution.— Aggres-
sions of British Cruisers in the Waters ofJYew-
York.— Breaches of Neutrality attempted hy the
French.— Clinton's Acts on these Occasions.

In 1803 Clinton was appointed mayor of the
city of New-York. This office was at that time
held by a commission from the executive of the
state, exercised under the construction of the con-
stitution to which we have referred by the council
of appointment. It was of much greater impor-
tance than it has possessed of late years. The
mayor presided in the meetings of the Common
Council, not yet divided into two chambers, and in
this body he had a vote and a deliberative voice.
A great number of valuable offices were in his di-
rect gift; he was also the chief judge of the com-
mon pleas and of the criminal court, as well as the

F

62 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

actual head of the city poUce. Circumstances
made one of the functions which are still exer-
cised by the mayor of New-York of much great-
er importance than it has recently been. The
city had been visited by the pestilence known as
the yellow fever; and the mayor was ex officio
chairman of the board to which, with almost ab-
solute power, the care of the public health was
intrusted.

The mayoralty of New-York was not only an
office of high tiaist, but of considerable emolu-
ment. The old privileges granted by the royal
charter were still in force ; and the fees of office,
although trifling in their items, had been swelled
by the rapid growth of the population to a large
aggregate amount. The whole of these fees had
been received by his predecessors in office, and
had been in one instance almost the only basis of
a princely fortune. The common council, howev-
er, had the power of lowering the fees, while the
mayor possessed similar authority over certain of
the dues of the corporation. As the source whence
the perquisites of the mayor were drawn hardly ap-
peared a public burden, the corporation, while anx-
ious to reduce the compensation of the mayor, did
not feel called upon to lessen the fees themselves.
A compromise was therefore proposed, and acceded
to by CKnton, by which more than half of the
mayor's receipts as clerk of the market went into

DEW ITT CLINTON. 63

the treasury of the city. It would appear that, in
this arrangement, the emoluments of the office were
reduced to a sum little more than has, in times pro-
fessing a more rigid economy, been attached to
that office in the form of a fixed salary.

Whatever were the emoluments of the mayor-
alty, they gave Clinton no accession of fortune.
He felt that they were intended not to be hoarded
for his private use, but to enable him to support the
dignity of the office and the hospitalities of the
city. In every part of his career, the mere accu-
mulation of wealth was considered as an object
unAvorthy of his attention. His expenditures ex-
ceeded the income of his office, and he retired
from it far from affluent in his circumstances.

His first appointment as mayor bore date 11th
October, 1803, and the term of the office being
annual, he was shortly after reappointed for the
year 1804, as he was, in due course, for 1805 and
1806.

In 1807, a split having taken place in the dem-
ocratic party, he was removed from the may-
oralty, and Smith Thompson named in his stead.
This gentleman did not enter upon the duties of
the office, and was superseded by the appointment
of Colonel Willett.

Colonel Willett held the office only for one
year, wben he was replaced by Clinton, who was
again reappointed in 1809. Jacob RadclifF ob-

64 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

tained the appointment in 1810, and Clinton, re-
placing him in 18 1 1, was continued in it until 6th
March, 1815. During all this period, with the
exception of the year 1810, when the federalists
obtained a momentary ascendency, a party claim-
ing to be democratic possessed the appointing
power. Clinton, however, was successful in main-
taining, up to 1813, what was admitted to be the
true succession of the party, and, as often as it
overwhelmed its opponents, was replaced in his
important office.

This ascendency was not maintained without
severe struggles, into which not only public mo-
tives, but personal feelings also, entered. Burr
had been, up to the election of Jefferson, the favour-
ite of the democratic party of New-York, and had,
by the fascination of his manners, collected around
him a knot of young men possessing talents, ener-
gy, and reckless courage beyond any wdiich has
ever been united in the support of any other poli-
tician. Although Burr had lost the confidence of
the creneral administration, he still endeavoured to
maintain his stand with the democratic party of
the State of New-York. In this attempt he was
met and frustrated by Clinton and his friends. A
schism thus arising among individuals, many of
whom had been in habits of the closest intimacy,
both social and political, could not fail to be at-
tended with mutual recriminations. These, in

DEWITT CLINTON. 65

several cases, passed the limits of forbearance, and
hostile meetings were the consequence. In these
combats Clinton was compelled, by his position,
to take his share. Public opinion had not been
declared, as it has since so formally been, against
the code of duelhng. So far from its being the
general sense that duels were improper, it would
have been fatal to any politician had he refused,
when called upon for any cause considered suf-
ficient in the code of honour, to meet the aggriev-
ed party, or had he submitted to a technical in-
sult without demanding satisfaction. This state
of public feeling was at once put an end to by the
death of Hamilton, w^ho fell by the hand of the
leader of that band, with which Clinton and his
friends had been previously engaged in similar
conflicts.

The division in the party, which led to the re-
moval of Clinton from the office of mayor in 1807,
grew out of the course of Governor Lew^is, who,
strong in his fortune, family, and connexions, as
well as in the remembrance of his revolutionary
services, ventured to act independently. In order
to replace him, the leaders of the party selected
Daniel D. Tompkins, at that time the junior judge
of the Supreme Court of the State. According to
his opponents, he was selected because he possess-
ed none of the attributes w^hich had led Lewis to
refuse to submit to dictation. If, however, Chnton

F2

66 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

and his friends had hoped to find in Tompkins a
pliant and submissive tool, whom they might use
for a time and discard at pleasure, they were mis-
taken. Tompkins, with no remarkable native
powers of mind, and but little acquirement even
as a lawyer, possessed, in a most eminent degree,
the art of ingratiating himself with the people.
He had the faculty, which is invaluable to him
who seeks for popular honours, of never forgetting
the name or face of any person with whom he had
once conversed ; of becoming acquainted and ap-
pearing to take an interest in the concerns of their
families; and of securing, by his affability and
amiable address, the good opinion of the female
sex, who, although possessed of no vote, often
exercise a powerful indirect influence. Clinton,
on the other hand, absorbed in lofty contempla-
tions, was often absent in mind, was forgetful of
persons and all but familiar faces, and could not
condescend to know the secrets of famihes.

Delightful in his hours of relaxation and in the
society of his intimate friends, he found it difficult
to unbend himself with strangers, and set too high
a value on his time to exchange the news of the day,
or bandy jests with those transacting business with
him as mayor. Such traits of character, although
often inseparable from genius and learning, are
unfortunate in one who seeks for popular favour.
Clinton was thus rendered hable to the accusation

DEWITT CLINTON. 67

of pride and haughtiness, when, in fact, only guilty
of abstraction of mind and want of ease in his
manners.

The time at last came when his influence, sup-
ported by mental superiority and honesty of pur-
pose, was to yield to the popular talents of Tomp-
kins. The administration of Madison resolved
upon a war with Great Britain. For this, in the
opinion of Clinton, there existed no new cause.
He viewed with dismay the unprepared condition of
the country, and the vast extent of exposed fron-
tier of his native state. We now may consider it
as one of the most fortunate occurrences which
have ever happened for the prosperity and char-
acter of the United States, that war was declared
at this juncture against Great Britain. It was
justifiable, not by any new occurrences, but by a
long course of aggressions. The only true ques-
tion was, whether Britain or France should be se-
lected as an enemy, for both had been equally
guilty.

On this point there had been a w^ide difference
of opinion in the United States, and it had become
the line of party demarcation. The federalists
had been desirous that hostilities should be com-
menced against France, and had even, under the
administration of John Adams, authorized the cap-
ture of French vessels. The democratic party, on
the other hand, had desired that, if war must take

68 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

place, it should be against England. With this
party Chnton had uniformly acted, and had, in
fact, led it in the State of New-York. His opin-
ions on this point were unchanged, but he seems
to have desired that the country should have been
first put in a posture of preparation, which might
have either extorted redress from Great Britain,
or would have ensured success in the event of a
w^ar. His views and acts in reference to this ques-
tion will be considered more fully hereafter, and
we shall find that he differed from the administra-
tion only in a desire that a greater degree of en-
ergy should be infused into its councils. The
votes of his friends in Congress fully justify this
view of the subject, as well as the recollections of
his intimates. As, however, he was in opposition
to the administration at the time war was decla-
red, being actually nominated as a candidate for
the Presidency in opposition to Madison, this fact
was adroitly seized to injure him.

If he had even been opposed to the declaration
of war, as were many of unquestioned patriotism
at the time, he might have been fully justified.
The fears which many entertained of danger ari-
sing from our exposed and unprepared position,
were shown to be well founded by the events of
the first campaigns. It is not by the acquisitions
obtained in that war, either in territory or in the
terms of the peace by which it was ended, th?t its

DEWITT CLINTON. 69

consequences on our national character are to be
measured. We added nothing to our former
boundaries, and the principles on which Great
Britain justified her aggressions on neutrals were
not even a subject of discussion in the negotiations
of Ghent; peace was in fact made without the
formal acquisition of any one of the objects for
which hostilities were commenced; but, on the
other hand, our national honour was maintained;
cur reputation as first in maritime warfare, and the
equals in courage of our British ancestors, estab-
lished ; while the more important result was ob-
tained, that from that time, all feeling other than
one purely American ceased to be entertained by
our citizens. Up to the war of 1812, the leaven
of the old disputes of the revolution was still work-
ing, and the most honest politicians could hardly
avoid looking to international questions as parti-
sans of either England or France ; and, even if
no such motive existed in their own minds, their
political opponents were sure to charge them with
it, and thus force them to defend a position they
had not chosen. As an illustration of this state of
things, we may refer to the debate which has al-
ready been cited upon the Mississippi question,
where w^e find the two parties mutually accusing
each other of subserviency to the belligerents of
Europe ; and fears of the am.bition of Bonaparte on
the one hand, or complaints of the tyranny of

70 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Great Britain on the other, taking the place of
sound argument on American grounds.

We still know aged men who firmly believe
that all the federal party were identical with the
Tories of the revolution, and others who associate
their democratic opponents with the Jacobins oi
France. The war of 1812 put an end to this
state of things. In the contests of party, no ques-
tion is now debated except on the ground of its
bearings on the interests of our own country, and
the accusation of being subservient to foreign in-
fluence is no longer urged against an adversary,
not because the weapon of misrepresentation has
ceased to be employed in politics, but because such
charges could no longer receive belief

Clinton filled the office of mayor and performed
its functions highly to his own credit and to the
advantage of the community. His conduct in
presiding over the deliberations of the common
council was marked with dignity, decision, and
impartiality, warranting the support of his political
firiends, and conciliating the suffrages of his adver-
saries. As presiding judge of the criminal court,
he secured the respect of the bar for his legal
learning and ability; he was prompt in the de-
spatch of business, yet patient in listening to the
criminal's defence ; while the poor and friendless
found in their judge a counsel, the rich and pow-
erfully connected derived from their social advan-

DEWITT CLINTON. 71

tages no immunity from merited punishment.
The latter attribute he had an opportunity of ex-
hibiting in a memorable instance.

At the Commencement of Columbia College in
1811, a disturbance occurred in the church where
the ceremony was performed. A student who
had been refused his degree in a pubhc manner,
found a supporter in one of the audience, who
mounted the stage, and appealed to the assem-
blage from the acts of the provost. Dr. Mason.
Others speedily joined in the clamour. The pro-
vost, in attempting to restore order, was driven
from the stage ; and the proceedings of the day,
although finished, for form's sake, from the pulpit
by the president, were drowned by noise and
clamour.

The acts of several of the parties were thought
by a grand jury to warrant an indictment for riot,
and the accused were tried before Clinton. The
cause was defended on the ground of resistance to
oppression ; and the parties were of such standing
and promise — a promise in several of them well
confirmed by their subsequent brilliant career — as to
excite the greatest interest in their behalf. Fears
were even entertained by those who knew not his
stern principles of rectitude, that the judge, from his
known respect for the popular voice, or under the
influence of private friendship, might have failed
in seeing the cause in a true light. Such fears

72 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

were groundless. While the trial was conducted
in such a manner as to allow the accused every
means of defence, the charge to the jury pointed
out in such clear and convincing terms the char-
acter of the offence, that no hesitation was felt in
convicting them. In awarding the punishment,
Chnton is said to have long hesitated whether he
were not called upon by regard to justice to inflict
the disgrace of imprisonment as a part. Mature
reflection satisfied him that every desirable end
could be attained by the imposition of a fine ; but
this was imposed in an address conveying such
severe, merited, and pointed reprimand, as was
well calculated to prevent the recurrence of a
similar offence by any parties possessed of the
feelings of honour and of the lofty intelligence
which marked those who had thus become the
subjects of his censure.

The most important legal question which came
before him as judge of the criminal court, was one
having regard to liberty of conscience. A Roman
Catholic priest was called upon to disclose what
had been communicated to him under the seal of
confession. Clinton on this occasion sustained, in
opposition to British decisions, the sanctity of that
sacrament, as it is held to be by that church, and
was subsequently mainly instrumental in doing
away, by legislative action, the disabilities to which
professors of the Catholic faith were still subjected

DEWITT CLINTON. 73

by laws and practices arising from British statutes
which lay unrepealed.

Clinton, as chief of the police of a large and
populous city, appeared to no less advantage than
as a criminal judge. At fires, and all unusual as-
semblages where disorder might be apprehended,
he was to be found, not to repress riots actually
begun, but in time to prevent their occurrence.
When the mere majesty of the law appeared to be
likely to be insufficient, he took early and prompt
measures to have at his disposal a sufficient civic
force, and for calling on the uniformed companies
as a reinforcement in case of need.

As an instance of his promptitude in such cases,
the riot in James-street may be cited. This had
begun in boarding-houses for seamen; and that
brave, but thoughtless and turbulent race, had beat-
en and put to flight the police. On receiving in-
telhgence of the fact, Clinton, after making pro-
vision for calling out the ti^oops, hurried to the spot
attended by such civil officers as he could mus-
ter. On his way through Chatham-street he met
some officers of the fourth regiment of militia,
which had paraded that afternoon at Corlaer's
Hook, and had just been dismissed. Collecting
these to the number of about a dozen, he formed
them in a line across the street, placed the band
which had attended the regiment behind them,
and, ordering it to play a charge, led the way to

G

74 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the scene of riot. The mob, aware of his pres-
ence, and deceived by the judicious exhibition of
force when there was in reahty none, dispersed
without resistance, and the leaders were captured.
A few minutes' delay would probably have ren-
dered it necessary to have recourse to bloodshed.
As it was, he gallantly exposed himself to no lit-
tle personal risk.

As the probabihty of a war with Great Britain
increased, those, who recollected the tumultuous
scenes of the breaking out of the Revolution, when
law was for a time suspended ; who had heard
threats of personal violence uttered against obnox-
ious persons, which threats were not always vain ;
and particularly those who had themselves suffer-
ed from the cruelty of the partisans of the British
government, began to speak openly of taking the
opportunity of the breaking out of hostilities to
gratify their long-suppressed revenge. Obnoxious
persons were publicly named, and their houses
marked out for pillage. In this juncture, Clinton
had a difficult part to play. He was a candidate
for the presidency in opposition to Madison, while
the leaders of the democratic party in the city had
espoused the cause of that gentleman. He saw in
those who uttered threats his old associates in the
democratic party, and among them those who had
influence sufficient either to denounce him or secure
him its support.

DEWITT CLINTON. 75

The persons thus threatened were those of the
old Tory faction, who had never joined themselves
to the democratic party. To such as had, free im-
munity was granted. By the slightest neglect of
precautionary measures, Clinton therefore had it in
his power to conciliate old friends and prevent a
rupture with them, as well as to punish some of
his most active political opponents. Clinton, how-
ever, had too high a regard for his duty to slumber
at his post. No sooner had the slightest symptoms
of popular commotion appeared, than he took the
most prompt measures to preserve the public peace.
These were successful ; but they had the effect of
utterly estranging from him the managers of the
party with which, from his earliest manhood, he
had been associated, and of which he had for
years been the acknowledged leader. As he could
not be openly blamed for preserving the quiet of
the city, he was accused of giving rise to a ground-
less alarm ; and the very persons who pointed out
by name the objects of their attack, were now
heard declaring that no intention of violence or
pillage had ever been entertained.

In the earliest years of his mayoralty, Clinton
found himself compelled to exercise the duties of
a diplomatist in addition to the various duties with
which he was loaded. The renewal of the war
between Great Britain and France, if it did not
give rise to intrigues, as on the former occasion,

76 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

for the purpose of drawing the United States into
the contest as a party, placed the country under
the necessity of asserting, by steady and impartial
measures, its neutral character. The French had,
at the breaking out of hostilities, an army and
a fleet in St. Domingo. In attempting to with-
draw this force in the face of the superior power
of Great Britain, single vessels and squadrons
touched at the port of New-York. Among the
rest, two fine frigates anchored in the bay, among
whose officers was Jerome Bonaparte, the brother
of the first consul, and subsequently King of West-
phalia. The cupidity of the British officers on the
Halifax station was increased by the hopes of this
rich prize, and a squadron actually entered into the
bay in pursuit of them. For a moment, apprehen-
sions were entertained that our waters would have
been the scene of a hostile attack, such as the
British afterward made the Bay of Valparaiso.
Clinton permitted the French vessels to anchor un-
der the guns of Fort Jay; and, to prevent the
breach of neutrality consequent on the French ves-
sels being followed out, required from the British
commanders a promise not to sail until 24 hours
after the French vessels should have proceeded to
sea. On this being refused, he issued orders to the
pilots not to carry them to sea. In consequence
of these decisive measures, the British squadron
left the anchorage at the quarantine-ground, and

DEWITT CLINTON. 77

blockaded the harbour. The French vessels sub-
sequently made their escape through the Sound :
and here again Clinton was compelled to interfere,
by directing the commander of Fort Jay to allow
them to enter the East River. Numerous other
aggressions were committed by British cruisers,
which, on more than one occasion, threatened to
lead to popular tumults, retaliating on British
residents the offensive acts of their countrymen.
Among other instances, an American seaman was
killed within the jurisdiction of the United Sates
by a shot from the Leander.

On the other hand, the French officers exhibited
a spirit as little consistent with regard for neutral
rights as the English, although they had less pow-
er to carry it into effect. Clinton was thus in-
volved in correspondence with the commercial
agents of the two belligerant nations ; compelled
to adopt measures of military opposition to their
aggressions, and, at the same time, to restrain the
popular feeling. His course on this occasion is
marked with dignity and decision, and his corre-
spondence exhibits his accustomed ability.

G2

78 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER VI.

Origin of the Public School Society of J^ew-
Yorlc- — It is Chartered. — Is founded on Private
Contributions. — Clinton's Agency in obtaining
them. — Gift from the Corporation of JYew-
York, and Grant from the State Legislature. —
Reflections on the System of Common Schools.
— Turnpike from Poughkeepsie to Kingsbridge.

While mayoF of the City of New-York, Clin-
ton took the lead in the promotion of numerous im-
portant public objects. To the aid of these he not
only brought his talents as a writer, his personal
exertions, and the whole weight of his political
influence, but contributed, when necessary, freely
from his private purse. Among these, the Free
School Association, as well from the direct and
immediate benefits it produced, as from having
been the first step towards that system which now
includes the whole state in its beneficent influence,
is most worthy of notice.

The Lancasterian method of instruction was ma-
king a great noise in Europe, and excited, in par-
ticular, the attention of the members of the Society
of Friends. In the year 1804, two influential and
benevolent men of this persuasion, the late John

DEWITT CLINTON. 79

Murray, Jr., and Thomas Eddy, conceived the idea
of introducing that method into the City of New-
York. CUnton was immediately consulted by
them, and saw at once the vast amount of benefit
which might be derived from the successful intro-
duction of this system. He therefore drew up the
plan of an association, for the purpose of providing
gratuitous instruction for such poor children as
did not fall within the sphere of any of the char-
ity schools then existing in the city. In the list of
this association his name stands first, and he was
its first presiding officer.

As a charter was necessary to ensure success,
preparations were made for applying to the Legis-
lature ', and Governor Lewis made the subject a
prominent feature of his message in January, 1805.
With wise and liberal views, he went beyond the
immediate objects of the association, and pointed
out to the Legislature the value of a general sys-
tem of common schools, backing his recommenda-
tion by the authority of his predecessor, George
Clinton.

In consequence of this recommendation, and the
personal exertions of its friends, a charter was
granted in April, 1805, in the preamble to which,
Clinton is named as having applied for it. No
farther legislative aid was granted at the time ; and
it became necessary, in order to carry the objects
of the association into effect, to have recoui'se to

80 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

private contributions. In the labour of solicitation
and explanation necessary for such a purpose, and
in the irksome task of begging from door to door
Clinton took more than his share. In company
with Frederic Depeyster, another of the associ-
ates, he called personally upon many of the citi-
zens, and did not cease from his exertions until no
more funds could be collected. The list of De-
peyster and Clinton exhibited subscriptions to the
amount of $4910.

His influence with the corporation of the city,
over whose deliberations he then presided, w^as
next brought into action, and a grant of an old
building, formerly used as an arsenal, with a dona-
tion of $2000 in money, was obtained.

In the year 1806, Clinton, having taken his seat
in the Senate of the state, was named chairman of
a committee to which a petition of the Free-school
Society for aid was referred. In this capacity he
made a most able and conclusive report, in which
the importance of the institution to the public was
exhibited in so clear a light, that a bill was passed,
by which an immediate appropriation of $ 12,000,
vdth an annuity of $ 1500 per annum, was granted
to the society.

This was the germ of the pubUc schools of the
city of New-York, now so flourishing, and the ba-
sis on which the great system of common schools
throughout the state was founded. The success of

.DEWITT CLINTON. §1

the first public school was unexampled in training
up to habits of industry and morality, youth who
might otherwise have fallen into idleness and vice.
At the end of twenty years from its foundation, it
was the proud boast of Clinton, then governor of
the state, m a message to the Legislature, that out
of the many thousands who had received instruc-
tion in the public schools, none had ever been con-
victed of a criminal offence.

The success of the public school in New-York
led to Its speedy imitation in Albany and Troy •
and the obvious benefits which the several estab-
ishmente conferred on the communitv, furnished
the most powerful inducements for th; accumula-
tion of such a fund as might spread similar advan-
tages throughout the state. It is unnecessary to
enter into an exhibition of the immense value
which the common schools have been to the State
of New-York. Their importance is admitted on all
hands; and, where the right of suffrage is univer-
sal, the only security for liberty is to be found in an
equally universal diffusion of the blessinP-s of edu-
cation.* °

The common school system has not, however,

acres nf ! Kl , T ' ''^ ^ '«g'«"ative grant of 600,000

acres of pobl.c lands ; and it has accumulated from this and

her sonrees, until it is justly doubted whether it be e pedtant

to increase it any farther. t^j^peuienc

82 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

yet attained that degree of excellence of which it
is capable, and there are certain obvious defects in
its management which call for a remedy.

The public school of New- York was originally
instituted to supply a positive want. The several
rehgious congregations had, with great liberality,
founded free-schools, erecting buildings and pur-
chasing land. Those of the Reformed Dutch,
Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches were flour-
ishing, although far from being sufficient even for
those in their respective communions. They de-
rived their support from annual collections. The
Catholics had also commenced a similar system;
and, although possessed of less comparative wealth,
exhibited a noble spirit of liberality. When the
school fund was first applied, all these institutions
received support from it in the ratio of the num-
bers of their respective scholars, and a generous
emulation ensued to raise the character of the ed-
ucation they furnished, as by this alone, in most of
the cases, could they obtain a preference from
the scholars.

By a most unfortunate change, the whole appro-
priation was vested in the public schools, and the
support afforded by it to those of the several Chris-
tian denominations withdrawn. The free-schools
therefore fell back to their original state, or were
abandoned altogether. Hundreds of active and
zealous advocates of education have been with-

DEWITT CLINTON. 83

drawn from the cause, and the pubhc schools them-
selves do not appear to have derived any propor-
tionate accession in numbers. The blow has fallen
hardest upon the Catholics. The children of this
numerous and, unluckily, as a mass, ignorant por-
tion of our population, are thereby debarred, by
scruples of conscience, from all access to that
education for which they are taxed in proportion
to their means. In mere principle, although in
amount small, the hardship is as great as that
which some of them have fled to avoid in the
country of their nativity, that of paying for the
support of a clergy whose ministry they repudiate.
To say that the schools are open to their children
is a repetition of the remark that the Protestant
churches are open to them in Ireland ; their con-
sciences equally prevent their entering either.

It will be only when all religious feeling can be
satisfied, that the great and final step of the school
system can be taken, namely, to render it penal in
any parent not to avail himself of the benefits it
holds out to his children. Such has been the law
for centuries in Switzerland, and has been the most
efficient cause of the maintenance of its free insti-
tutions while in actual contact vnth the most pow-
erful and absolute monarchies of Europe. They
have been supported by their moral strength, long
after physical resistance w^ould have ceased to de-
fend them.

84 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

So far, then, from withdrawing the benefits of
the school fund from sectarian estabhshments, all
denominations of Christians ought to be encour-
aged to found schools, and be entitled, as formerly,
to a proportionate share of the fund. No denom-
ination can except to this ; for, as each is satisfied
that its own tenets are correct, it ought to be
pleased at the diffusion of that intelligence by
which its orthodoxy may be tested.

Another obvious defect in the system is its en-
tire separation from all the institutions for educa-
tion of a higher character. It thus limits those
whose parents are not possessed of competence, to
the very elements of learning ; shuts them out from
all the learned professions ; and debars them from
all chance of attaining political eminence by legit-
imate means. Under the aspect of the purest de-
mocracy, it lays the foundation of an aristocracy
of learninof, into which the children of the rich
alone are admitted.

Those who are conversant with the workings
of the two systems, are aware of the wide and im-
passable barrier which separates those who are ed-
ucated in the common schools from those who find
their elementary instruction in private seminaries,
and subsequently complete their courses in colleges.
Feelings of contempt on the one hand, and of envy
on the other, are fostered ; and, on attaining man-
hood, the youth of the republic are obviously ar-
rayed in two distinct and almost hostile classes.

DEWITT CLINTON. 85

In order that the common school system should
be perfect, it ought, as might readily be effected,
to give an elementary education superior to that of
any private school, and thus make it the interest
even of the richest to send their children to the
public schools. It should next be brought into
the closest connexion with the chartered academies
and colleges, by giving, as a reward for proficien-
cy in knowledge, the right of continuing the studies,
begun in the common schools, in the higher semi-
naries. Some of our colleges have, with great
liberality, tendered free scholarships to the trustees
of the public schools ; but the boon has not produ-
ced its proper result, because the intermediate
academies are inaccessible.

It is only in this way that a proper supply of
competent teachers for the common schools can be
obtained. It unluckily happens, that the profes-
sion of a teacher does not confer a standing in so-
ciety which will compensate for its trifling emolu-
ment. Teachers in the State of New-York^ will
alone be found among those who are preparing
themselves for professions of a character more re-
spected by the community, or who may have been
unsuccessful in such professions. The youth whose
talents will fit him for a teacher, will not consent
that an occupation, whose professors he sees al-
most loaded with indignity, shall be the limit of
his wishes. We therefore can anticipate no good

H

86 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

result from the establishment of separate schools for
teachers ; but, if the talented and industrious mem-
bers of the common schools be passed to the acad-
emies, and the most distinguished of them, in turn,
to the colleges, many seeking knowledge with
more ambitious views, would, in the very nature
of things, fall into the body of teachers.

From the time that he became an associate and
the first president of the Public School Society of
New- York, Clinton w^as unwearied in his labours
to promote the cause of education. As mayor of
the city, as senator, and as governor of the state,
he made every fair use of the influence of his sta-
tion to increase the school fund and extend its
benefits. Standing almost alone at first, he was
joined in the end by such numbers, and the influ-
ence finally became so powerful, as to overleap
the bounds he would himself have set to it, and to
monopolize patronage, of which a part might have
been extended, with greater public benefit, to insti-
tutions of more elevated character. Thus, while
the school system has been so successful that one
fourth of the whole numerical population is inclu-
ded in the lists of its pupils, the number of incor-
porated academies has not increased, nor that of
the scholars who attend them. This has reacted
upon the common schools themselves, by render-
ing it impossible to procure a sufficient number of
competent teachers.

DEW ITT CLINTON. 87

The communication between the cities of New-
York and Albany, so easy while the Hudson River
is open, is, during the winter, extremely difficult.
This attracted the attention of Clinton ; and a peti-
tion, drawn and headed by him, was presented to
the legislature in the year 1805, for the incorpora-
tion of the Highland Turnpike Co., to make a
road from Poughkeepsie to Kingsbridge. The
charter was granted, and funds nearly adequate
to the purpose were raised. By mismanagement
on the part of the directors, they were exhausted
before the most difficult part of the road was com-
pleted. Still, the travel in winter on the east side of
the Hudson, which was formerly attended with
great danger, has, since the passage of that act,
been rendered more easy and safe. This was all
that the state of the times and of the art of engi-
neering would permit. Had CUnton been now
living, and possessed of the influence he then ex-
erted, we should probably, ere this, have seen our
commercial metropolis united with the seat of
government by a railroad. The same enlighten-
ed policy which dictated the construction of the
Erie Canal in 1807, would have urged the neces-
sity of this measure at the public cost, and would
not have left the southwestern tier of counties to
seek an outlet to the market of New- York throuoh
the imperfect and ineffectual method of a chartered
company, which, if unsuccessful, would be a total

88 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

waste of capital, and if successful, an odious mo-
nopoly. The circumstances of the times in which
he lived did not call for any exposition of his
views on such subjects to the citizens of our own
state, but the arguments he addressed to the in-
habitants of New-Jersey and Ohio contain much
practical wisdom, which is exactly suited to the
present state of affairs in New-York.

DE WITT CLINTON. 89

CHAPTER VII.

Clinton is elected a Member of the State Senate.
— Incorporation of the Sailors' Snug Harbour.
— Law rewjoving the Incapacities of Roman
Catholics. — Charter of the Manumission Socie-
ty ; of the Cincinnati. — Grant for an Insane
Hospital. — Charter of the Eagle Fire Insurance
Company. — Grant for the Defence of the Har-
bour of JYew-York. — Academy of Fine Arts
Incorporated.— Clinton is named a Director, and
subsequently President of the Academy. — Char-
ter of the American Fur Company. — Burial of
the Remains of the Prisoners in the Jersey
Hulk.

At the election held in 1805, Clinton was
chosen a Senator cvf the state for the Southern
District, which office he held along with that of
mayor of the city of New- York. The Legislature,
as usual, was not convened until 1806, when he
took his seat. We have already had occasion to
speak of his acts in this capacity in reference to
the Public School Society of New-York. This
was far from being the only important object
which engaged his attention and received his sup-
port. From the first moment of his entering that

H2

90 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

body, he took a decided lead in its deliberations,
and furnished the draught of many of the laws
which originated in the upper house. Some of
these are even yet of interest, and require a notice
from us, which we shall give in order.

A benevolent individual of the name of R an-
dall, had, by will, bequeathed a property, which
has now become of immense value, to trustees, for
the purpose of establishing an hospital for seamen,
under the name of the " Sailors' Snug Harbour."
His heirs, if any could be found, were certainly
foreigners j and thus, if the will were void, the real
estate conveyed in it must have escheated to the
state. It appeared possible that the bequest might
be rendered null, from the fact that the will had
the air of creating a corporation, by vesting the es-
tate in a permanent body, composed of certain of-
ficial personages, and not in individual trustees.
Other legal difficulties stood in the way, which
also required legislative action. Under the con-
viction that the bequest would be of great public
benefit, Clinton introduced a bill conferring cor-
porate powers on the trustees named in the will,
and thus removing all doubts as to the title to the
property. This corporation, after having carefully
nursed its property for several years, has at last
been enabled to carry into effect the intentions of
its founder; and the name of Clinton might, with
propriety, be placed alongside of that of Randall,

DEWITT CLINTON. 91

as having secured the application of his legacy to
its intended object.

Under the royal government of the colony of
New-York, certain laws had been passed intend-
ed to prevent the settlement of Roman Catho-
lics, or, at least, debarring them from the privilege
of voting. These disqualifications still existed; for
the forms of abjuration intended to operate against
Jesuit missionaries were retained at the revolution
as a security against those who were unwilling to
disavow their allegiance to the King of England.
By the exertions of Clinton, a law drawn by him-
self was passed, which repealed the provision of-
fensive to the conscience of Roman Catholics.

An association for promoting the manumission
of slaves had existed for several years in the city
of New-York, but had not obtained a charter.
An act of incorporation was now introduced by
Clinton and passed. He also drew and intro-
duced a bill to charter the Society of the Cincin-
nati. This association of the officers of the revo-
lutionary army had been held together by the
mere consent of its members, and is still prevented
from fulfilling, in a beneficial manner, the char-
itable objects of its institution. It had at one
time been held up to the public as an attempt to
found an order of nobility, and had been stigma-
tized as aristocratic; although, in fact, no more
than an association for social and benevolent pur-

92 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

poses. So great was the prejudice which had
been excited against it by these gratuitous attacks,
that it does not appear probable that any member
of the democratic party, except CUnton, would
have had the courage to propose that it should be
incorporated.

The attempt to obtain a charter for this honour-
able and praiseworthy association failed; for even
the influence of Clinton, and his entire possession
of the confidence of the democratic party, were
insufficient to overcome the feelings of distrust
with which it was regarded.

It is thus a curious feature in the records of
our legislative proceedings, that, while the natives
of every European country which has furnished
any large number of settlers have been incorpora-
ted by charter for mutual relief and for keeping
up the recollections of their fatherlands, with the
provision for continuing the privilege to their chil-
dren, the officers of that army by which the inde-
pendence of our country had been achieved should
be denied a charter. Those who opposed the as-
sociation at its beginning feared that the feelings
of gratitude so justly due to those who had spent
their blood, their fortunes, and the prime of their
life in the revolutionary contest, might have in-
vested them and their descendants with the influ-
ence of an order of nobility; but they did not
foresee that in this case, at least, America was to

DEWITT CLINTON. 93

furnish no exception to the proverbial ingratitude
of repubhcs.

Up to the year 1806, the State of New-York
had possessed no hospital for the treatment of in-
sane patients. The severest infliction with which
the human race is visited had its victims thus ex-
posed to unnecessary restraints and cruel inflic-
tions. The trustees of the Hospital in the city of
New- York now applied to the Legislature for aid
in effecting the humane object of providing an
asylum for the lunatic. The petition was referred
by the Senate to a committee, of which Clinton was
chairman. He made a report, in which the neces-
sity of legislative assistance was forcibly set forth,
and, in conformity with the report, grants were
made, which enabled the trustees of the Hospital
to erect and support an asylum for the insane.
By means of this grant, a splendid and commo-
dious building has been erected at Bloomingdale,
where it stands as a monument of the wise benefi-
cence of the Legislature.

Among the scourges to which the City of New-
York has been exposed, one of the most destruc-
tive is fire. The inflammable nature of the mate-
rials employed in building, together with the ne-
cessity of providing against the severity of our
winter climate, has made conflagrations of fre-
quent occurrence and destructive violence. The
system of mutual assurance had been adopted as

94 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

a partial remedy, but the more economic mode of
ensuring at a fixed premium could at that time be
only effected through the agency of a company
established in London. The public convenience
called loudly for a local institution, which should
undertake this important and useful business. The
main difficulty was to find persons of sufficient
capital who would be willing to become liable
to the full extent of their property in a business of
so great a risk ; and there was, as yet, no instance
of the business having been conducted by a char-
ter, under which the associates would be liable
only to the extent of their subscriptions. To meet
the case, Clinton, at the request of a number of
respectable inhabitants of New-York, drew, and
procured the passage of, the charter of the Eagle
Insurance Company. This has since served as
the model for the incorporation of a number of
other companies, which have been of great benefit
to the community, and yielded good profit to their
stockholdei^, until, after the lapse of 30 years from
the establishment of the first, their capitals were
swept away by the great conflagration of Decem-
ber, 1835. Even then they were the means of
preserving many of the mercantile community
from entire destruction.

The difficulties of which we have spoken, which
arose from the acts of British and French cruisers,
were in a great measure owning to the exposed

DEWITT CLINTON. 95

condition of the Bay of New- York. The only
work of any consequence provided by the general
government for its defence was Fort Jay, on Gov-
ernor's Island. The city was in a measure safe from
aggression, except by a strong force, by batteries
on the water's edge, but the safe anchorage at the
Watering-place was wholly exposed. Here the
British actually impressed seamen, and the French
broke by force the sanitary regulations of the quar-
antine ; while, as we have seen, fears were enter-
tained that an attack would have been made on
vessels under the very guns of Fort Jay. The
general government showed a culpable negligence
in respect to this question. The importance of
New- York in a military and commercial light, has,
in general, rather excited the jealousy of other
states than led to liberal measures for its protec-
tion. It was obvious that it was only by fortifica-
tions at the Narrows that security from the unpun-
ished violation of our interior waters could be ob-
tained. To this object Clinton turned his atten-
tion, and drew up an able report on the defence
of the harbour of New- York. This was present-
ed by him to the Senate, and led to the passage, in
1808, of an act containing an appropriation of
$100,000 for the defence of that important pass.

Military critics have since found fault with the
selection of the position where this fortification
was erected. In this criticism they have forgotten

96 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the object for which it was erected, which was to
command and cover the Watering-place and Quar-
antine ground, not to attempt the much more diffi-
cult task of closing the Narrows to the entrance of
a foreign fleet. For the first of these objects, the
position chosen is sufficient, and the only one that
is so ; while, in the second, it forms an essential
and all-important feature. The occupation of
Staten Island in such a manner that it cannot be
easily seized by an enemy, is, besides, a most im-
portant object in the defence of the City of New-
York. It formed, in 1776, a species of Ute de pont,
in which the British forces were quietly collected
as they dropped in from a long voyage, and where
they were organized and recruited in health for
their final attack through Long Island.

In the commission named for fortifying the Nar-
rows, Chnton's name appears, and he filled an im-
portant place in its deliberations, although the de-
tails of the fortifications themselves necessarily fell
to the charge of the chief-engineer of the United
States, General Williams.

As early as 1801, an association had been form-
* ed in the City of New-York for the encourage-
ment of the fine arts. Liberal contributions had
been made by individuals, and a fine collection of
casts from the antique had been procured. In ad-
dition, Vanderlyn had been employed to make
copies of some of the best pictures in the Louvre,

DEWITT CLINTON. 97

while Napoleon, at that time First Consul of France,
had presented, through Chancellor Livingston, a
splendid collection of engravings. The institution
had languished for want of a local habitation, and
its administration was impeded by the want of le-
gal facilities. Clinton now took this institution un-
der his protection. He obtained a charter for it, and
a grant of apartments in the Government House.
This building had been erected on the site of Fort
George, for the residence of the chief magistrate
of the state, but had become useless in consequence
of the removal of the seat of government. In
the apartments thus granted, the casts and pictures
were arranged and opened to the public ; and, al-
though they excited but little notice at the time,
their influence was felt in the formation of public
taste, and gradually extended itself, until the City
of New-York has assumed a high rank both for
the patronage and the practice of the fine arts.

Chnton was named a director of the Academy
in the charter, and continued to hold that office
by annual election until the death of Chancellor
Livingston, who was the founder and the first
president. He was then elected president of the
Academy, which office he held for several years,
but, with great judgment, permitted the active
duties of that station to be performed chiefly by
Colonel Trumbull, who was so well fitted, from
his reputation as an artist, to hold the first rank in

I

98 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

such an institution. This institution, after fulfilhng
its object, has given way to an association of ar-
tists formed in its schools.

The Fur-trade of the West had been monopoli-
zed in a great degree by British subjects. These
had spread their posts far to the south into the
American territory, and could not be met on fair
terms of competition for want of united action on the
part of the American traders. Mr. Astor, so cel-
ebrated for his extended and comprehensive views
of commerce, was willing to apply his own capital
and talents to the important object of recovering
this valuable trade from a rival, and soon to be
a hostile nation. From the general government,
however, under a strict construction of the consti-
tution, he could not obtain the necessary powers
wherewith to found a company ; but as New-York
w^ould be the place of shipment and the necessary
centre of operations, a charter from this state was
considered by him as adequate to the purpose.
He therefore petitioned the Legislature for an act
of incorporation. This was drawn by Clinton,
and by his exertions it became a law. Since that
time the American Fur Company has not only
been a profitable concern to its stockholders, and
thus added to the general wealth, but has been of
great value to the country. It has excluded the
foreign influence, which had extended itself over
the savages within our own borders, and has done

DEWITT CLINTON. 99

more than arms to preserve the peace of an expo-
sed frontier, and render the pioneers of civilization
safe in their adventurous pursuits.

During the Revolutionary war, the prisoners ta-
ken by the British army, as well as many persons
seized under a charge of treason, had been confi-
ned in a hulk anchored in the Wallabout Bay.
The miseries of these floating prisons have been a
fruitful theme of complaint on the part of all na-
tions who have been engaged in war with Great
Britain. Security seems to have been the only ob-
ject in view, unless the demoniac pleasure of
lessening the number of enemies by a lingering
death can be believed to have existed. The suf-
ferings which have in all cases attended confine-
ment in British prison-ships, were aggravated on
this occasion by the riature of the contest, and
the fact that the jailers were in most instances
rather political opponents of the prisoners, who
sought to compel them to abandon their principles,
than public and honourable enemies. Whatever
may have been the cause, the mortality in that
vessel was unexampled, and the corses of the
unfortunate sufferers were hardly treated with the
ceremony of a handfiil of earth to protect their
putrefying remains from the public gaze. For
nearly a quarter of a century, the unburied bones
of these martyrs to their principles remained the
reproach of their tyrannical destroyers and the

100 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

disgrace of their ungrateful countrymen. Clinton
felt the latter in no small degree ; and, to remove
the blot on the national fame, proposed a law for
giving burial honours to the remains. This was
passed, and was carried into effect. Unluckily, in
its execution, an attempt was made to give it a
party character, and to employ it in arousing or
perpetuating a feeling of hostility to Great Britain.
All those who doubted the policy of entering into
a war with that country, were therefore debarred
from uniting in the ceremony ; and, by a want of
ordinary good taste in the committee of arrange^
ments, what was meant to honour the worthy
dead overpassed the step which separates the sub-
lime from the ridiculous. No error of manage-
ment, however, can do away the merit of the suf-
ferers, or detract from the feeling which influenced
Chnton in proposing due honours to their unburied
remains.

DEWITT CLINTON. 101

CHAPTER Vin.

Important Laws drawn hy Clinton while Senator.
— His Opinions as a Member of the Court of
Errors. — He Receives a Challenge for words
spoken in Debate. — His Manly and Dignified
Conduct on that Occasion. — Attempt at Corrup-
tion in obtaining the Charter of a Bank,

Clinton continued to be a Senator of the State
until 1811, when he was elected lieutenant-o-ov-
ernor, and thus called to preside over the deliber-
ations of the body of which he had so long been
a member. We have already seen that he was
the mover, and influential in procuring the pas-
sage, of many important acts. Among others,
which were also drawn by him, and which are of
sufficient moment to be recorded, are :

An Act to provide for a State Arsenal.

An Act relative to the fortifications erecting by
the state.

An Act for laying out Canal-street in the city
of New- York.

An Act respecting a digest of the public laws
of the state.

An Act to enlarge the powers of the Orphan
Asylum Society.

12

102 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

An Act to ame^d the insolvent laws.

An Act to prevent the inhuman treatment of
slaves.

An Act to prevent the farther introduction of
slaves.

An Act for the support of the Quarantine estab-
lishment.

An Act to incorporate the New-York Mission-
ary Society.

An Act to revise and amend the militia laws.

An Act to incorporate the society for the relief
of poor widows with small children.

An Act for promoting medical science.

An Act respecting the Free-school Society.

An Act for the partition of Haerlem Commons.

An Act concerning the Onondago Salt-springs.

An Act for the farther encouragement of free-
schools.

An Act for the better protection of sheep.

An Act securing to mechanics and others pay-
ment for their labour and materials in the city of
New-York.

An Act to establish a register's office in the
city of New- York.

An Act to set apart certain apartments in the
Capitol for public purposes.

An Act for the benefit of the Orphan Asylum
(by which an annuity of $500 was granted out of
the auction duties).

DEWITT CLINTON. 103

An Act to prevent abuses in actions de homine
replegiando.

An Act for abolishing the Court of Exchequer.

An Act to prevent frauds at elections.

An Act to incorporate the Humane Society.

In introducing several of the bills which be-
came the foregoing laws, Clinton presented able
and luminous reports, or prefaced the propositions
with powerful speeches. He also drew, on several
occasions, the answer of the Senate to the speech-
es of the governor. In one of these, presented in
1810, is to be found one of the best arguments in
favour of our republican institutions, with an eulo-
gium on the excellence of that system of govern-
ment "which recognises the people as the source,
and their happiness as the object of all legitimate
authority."

On the retirement of Jefferson from the office
of president, an address was voted to him by the
Leo-islature of New- York, which measure was
proposed, and the address drawn by Clinton.

In addition to the acts which have been cited,
he drew and procured the passage of others in
encouragement of literary and scientific objects, as
well as others in reference to internal improve-
ments, on which subject he also wrote and pre-
sented reports. We have omitted these for the
present, as we shall have occasion hereafter to
examine his agency in the cause of science, and

104 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

his services in promoting our system of internal
improvement more at length.

The Senate, with the chancellor of the State
and the judges of the Supreme Court, formed, and
still form, a tribunal of ultimate resort, under the
name of the Court of Errors. This tribunal is of
great value among our institutions, as it not only
furnishes the means of cool and deliberate adjudi-
cation in points of law, but, from its mixed char-
acter, affords a means of correcting so much of
the common law as, by the progress of society,
becomes unsuited to the existing state of things,
and of substituting principles of broad and univer-
sal application for the mere technicalities of legal
forms. In the deliberations of this tribunal Clin-
ton bore an important share.

As early as 1802, when serving for his first term
in the Senate of the state, he delivered an opinion
on a most important question, and settled the law
on that subject. The trade of the United States
had become an object of pillage to both belliger-
ants, and this pillage was legalized by the decis-
ions of petty admiralty courts, which rarely failed
to find pretences for condemnation. The mer-
chants sought protection by insurances at exorbi-
tant premiums, but were likely to derive no ad-
vantage from this precaution. The English judges
had decided that the decrees of admiralty courts
were not open to revision ; and thus, when the as-

DEWITT CLINTON. 105

signed cause of condemnation was not among the
risks expressed or implied in the pohcy, the suf-
ferer would have had no redress had this princi-
ple been adopted as a part of the common law
of the State of New-York. The inferior tribunals,
governed by the English decisions, refused to in-
quire whether the assigned cause of condemnation
were ti^ue or false; and, as such pretended cause
was of course one which was inconsistent with an
observance of neutrality, the policies could not
have been recovered.

When these questions came before the Court of
Errors, it decided that the decisions of courts of
admiralty were, like those of other tribunals, open
to examination. The very act of pillage and op-
pression, which had before been a bar to the re-
covery of the loss, was thus made a risk which
could be covered by insurance. The proceedings
in the American courts under this decision could
be made the grounds of a claim for indemnity to
the underwriters from the foreign government ; and
this opinion of Clinton's has, after the lapse of up-
ward of thirty years, been the direct cause of a claim
being successfully urged against the French gov-
ernment for the spoliations committed by Napo-
leon. Had the American courts of law admitted,
even by implication, the justice of the decrees of
the admiralty tribunals, it must have been a bar to
any redress, except in the small list of cases in

106 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

which even the mockery of legal process had
been dispensed with. In the negotiations which
continued for so long a time before redress was
obtained, the French diplomatists drew, on this
very ground, a broad distinction between the two
sets of cases ; and, could they have supported their
argument by the adjudication of American tribu-
nals, it is not difficult to believe that all indemnity
would have been refused. In this decision, there-
fore, Clinton not only conferred an immediate
benefit on the mercantile community, but paved
the way for the indemnification of the underwri-
ters.

In 1807 another case of great importance to the
merchant was decided in the Court of Errors. In
this Clinton delivered the opinion concurred in by
the majority of the court, in opposition to the
views of the judges. At that time American citi-
zens were permitted to own vessels, which, from
being of foreign build, or having lost their nation-
al character by capture and condemnation, were
not entitled to be registered. To secure such
property from capture, the executive of the Uni-
ted States had directed the officers of the customs
to furnish them with papers under the name of
sea-letters. A law of Congress had subsequently
enacted, that the evidence of ownership should
be afforded by a paper called a passport. In the
practice of the custom-house, the papers furnished

DEWITT CLINTON. 107

first under the executive instructions, and subse-
quently under the laws, were made identical.
Thus, while the mercantile community continued '
to call the document a sea-letter, the custom-house
issued it under the law authorizing the granting of
passports. In a case arising out of this confusion of
terms, Clinton led the decision of the Court of Er-
rors by an opinion in which the broad principles
of justice triumphed over the narrow views of le-
gal interpretation.

During the same session, a case arose involving
the nicest technicalities of special pleading ; and
here Clinton exhibited as much knowledge of the
logic of legal argument, as he had, in the former
case, shown of the basis of natural right on which
alone laws ought to be founded.

An estate of great value in the neighbourhood
of New-York, left by Nicholas Cruger to his heirs,
had unluckily become the subject of litigation.
The widow had married again, and his children by
a former marriage naturally felt indignant at see-
ing the property of their father likely to be thus
diverted to strangers to his blood. The case was
involved in great difficulty, in consequence of one
of the largest pieces of the real estate having been
leased for the term of two joint lives and that of
the surviver. It became necessary, therefore, in
the valuation for a division, to introduce the esti-
mate of the probabilities of life. Clinton discuss-

108 AMERICAN BIOGEAPHY.

ed this complicated subject with his usual ability.
It is unnecessary, however, for us to enter into the
merits of this case, for means were found to con-
tinue the litigation ; and the suit was not finally
settled until the dropping of both the lives render-
ed all that had been done useless.

The law of libel in the United States has under-
gone great alterations, in order to conform it to
the spirit of our institutions, from the strict rule
which the British common law has sanctioned, that
" the greater the truth the greater the libel." In
that country, to publish even the truth in respect to
parties of distinguished rank becomes a crime of no
little magnitude ; and even among equals the truth
of the publication is no plea in mitigation of the
punishment awarded to a libel as a crime, howev-
er strongly it may influence a jury in the estimate
of damages in a civil action. A suit commenced
against the notorious Cheetham was carried up ta
the Court of Errors in 1805, and afforded Clinton
a farther opportunity of exhibiting his judicial ac-
umen.

His last decision was in the case of John Van
Ness Yates. This person had been committed by
Chancellor Lansing for an alleged contempt of
court, and had been released under a writ of ha-
beas corpus by a process at common law. No
sooner was he freed from imprisonment than he
was forthwith recommitted by the chancellor. He,

. DEWITT CLINTON. 109

in consequence, brought an action against that high
judicial officer for damages, and was defeated on
a point of law in the Supreme Court. In attempt-
ing to remove the cause by a writ of error from
the Court of Errors, he was met by an order of
supersedeas from the chancellor, and his proceed-
ings were stopped. The question was, however,
brought in the form of a suit between Yates and
the State before the Court of Errors, which deci-
ded, in conformity with an opinion delivered by
Clinton, that the writ of error issued of right, and
could neither be withheld at the pleasure of a
judge, nor stopped by any process issuing from the
Court of Chancery. The importance of this de-
cision is manifest, and the opinion of Clinton is
marked by a profound knowledge of the history
of the common law, and an acute perception of the
variations which the peculiar nature of republican
institutions must necessarily introduce into it.

In the words of that distinguished jurist Chan-
cellor Kent, " some of these opinions are models
of judicial and parliamentary eloquence, and they
all relate to important questions affecting constitu-
tional rights and civil liberty."

While a member of the Senate, Clinton had an
opportunity of vindicating the freedom of debate,
and maintaining the immunity of members of a
legislative body from personal responsibility for
words spoken in its deliberative proceedings. On

K

110 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the discussion of a law for granting the right of
holding real estate to certain aliens, Clinton felt it
his duty to comment on the conduct of one of
them to his tenants. It is to be remarked, that the
grant of such privilege is contrary to the policy of
most other countries, and that Great Britain in
particular, to whose subjects such grants have most
frequently been made by the State of New- York,
has been the most illiberal in its escheats of the
inheritances which, in natural course, would have
passed to foreigners. The person whose conduct
was commented upon sought what is styled sat-
isfaction for the attack by sending a challenge.
Such is the code of modern honour, that he seems
to have calculated almost with certainty that Clin-
ton, who had not yet abjured its bloody rule,
would not have hesitated to give him a meeting.
It had indeed been the practice, in too many in-
stances, to submit disputes to a decision by arms;
and the immunity of legislators for words spoken
in debate was not regarded in the courts of honour.
There are, no doubt, instances where attacks
on character become cowardly when shielded by
parliamentary privilege; but this was not one.
The facts stated w^ere no more than the simple
truth, and the case called for their disclosure.
Men of less moral courage than Clinton might,
however, have hesitated, and feared a loss of rep-
utation from refusing a challenge ; and it has "been

DEWITT CLINTON. Ill

often remarked, that a greater degree of coward-
ice has been shown in the acceptance than would
have been exhibited in dechning to fight a duel.
The fear of " the world's dread laugh" is often
greater than that of loss of life, and has in many
instances prevailed over the obligations of moral-
ity and religion. It was, in fact, necessary that
some person of standing and reputation, equal to
that of Clinton, should interpose the authority of
his example to correct the mistaken notions of
honour which prevailed.

It was, fortunately, unnecessary for him to ex-
hibit proofs of personal courage. He had, on
another occasion, done all that the nicest casuist
in points of honour could have demanded; and
although his lending his countenance to the prac-
tice of duelling is, if capable of any excuse, not to
be vindicated in the eye of religious feeling, he
had established a character for undaunted bravery.

Clinton, on a full view of the subject, saw that
he w^as precluded from giving his challenger a
meeting by considerations other than those of bare
privilege. He therefore laid the whole matter,
without delay, before the Senate. The parties
concerned in the challenge were forthwith com-
mitted to the custody of the officers of the house,
whence they were not discharged until they had
made an humble apology for the breach of privi-
lege.

112 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

So high did parties run, and so completely did
they blind one portion of the community to a true
perception of the matter, that much blame was at
the moment poured upon Clinton for a course, a
deviation from which must have loaded him with
severe censure, and left an indelible spot on his
fame. The acceptance of the challenge would
have placed his adversary on the vantage ground,
and, whatever had been the result, Clinton would
have fallen in the estimation of the thinking part
of the community.

At the present day, no difference of opinion on
this point exists. It is admitted on all hands, that
Clinton on this occasion not only maintained with
intelligent firmness the freedom of debate and the
privileges of the deliberative body of which he
was a member, but pursued the course most con-
sistent with his own reputation and the dignity of
his character.

On another occasion, he vindicated with signal
determination the dignity of the body of which
he was a member. The privilege of banking, un-
der an act of incorporation, had hitherto been
granted by the Legislature with great parsimony.
In the city of New- York, no more than one bank
had received the direct sanction of that body, and
another had exercised the powers by a free con-
f struction of privileges granted avowedly for a
very different purpose. It is foreign to our pur-

DEWITT CLINTON. 113

pose to compare this rigid course with the open and
liberal plan which has recently been introduced ;
it is sufficient to say that a charter was of great
value on account of the difficulty of procuring it.
In the attempt to obtain an act of incorporation
for a new bank, money, promises, and other means
of corruption w^ere not spared. Among other
agents, a member of the Senate itself was not
free from the suspicion of acting from corrupt mo-
tives, and was notoriously the channel by which
others were tempted. As soon as CHnton became
aware of the circumstances, he moved an inquiry
into the conduct of his colleague, and, after some
proceedings in prosecution of this inquiry, the
senator found it expedient to resign his seat rath-
er than incur the consequences of an examination.
Clinton thus boldly attempted to stem at its
source that current of corruption which afterward
degraded the state, and gave birth to that third
estate, "the lobby," which, although unknown to
the constitution and laws, has at times controlled
the actions of the constituted chambers.

K2

114 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER IX.

Literary and Scientific Pursuits of Clinton. — His-
torical Society ; his efforts in its behalf, and
his Address on the History of the Five Motions.
— Literary and Philosophical Society formed,
and Clinton chosen President. — His Inaugural
Discourse. — His Discovery of a JYative Variety
of Wheat, and other Contributions to JYatural
Science.

We have had occasion to mention the bias
which CUnton exhibited in the early part of his
career to scientific pursuits. Of these and of
literature, he became, as his influence was extend-
ed, the active patron, while he did not cease to
devote his brief intervals of leisure to their cultiva-
tion by his own labours. The Historical Society
was estabhshed in the City of New-York in 1804
by a voluntary association. The venerable Egbert
Benson was its first president, and had attempted
to direct its action to the traditional lore of which
he himself possessed so ample a fund. It was not
found practicable, however, by means of the hmited
contributions of individuals, to accumulate sufficient
funds for th« furtherance of its objects, nor would
the friends of the distinguished dead intrust their

DEWITT CLINTON. 115

memorials to an ephemeral association. In order
to enable this society to accomplish its avowed
and praiseworthy objects, Clinton, to whom a pe-
tition for that purpose was referred in 1809, drew
an act of incorporation, which he presented, along
wdth a strong and able report in its favour. This
report was adopted and the charter granted. Not
content with this, he in 1814 framed a memorial
to the Legislature on behalf of the Historical So-
ciety. In this, after dividing the civil history of
the State of New- York into four epochs, he shows
in what a scattered state even the records were,
whence alone an authentic history of these several
periods could be derived. The Indian tribes were
fast disappearing before the moral force of civiliza-
tion; the mounds, ramparts, and tumuli of a yet
earlier race were yielding to the plough and har-
row ; while the records of the official treaties be-
tween the Five Nations and the colonial authorities
were in the hands of an expatriated family.

The history of the emigrants from Holland and
of the Protestant families of Belgium, who had
preferred to encounter the dangers of the seas and
the terrors of the wilderness to submission to the
bloody rule of Alba, were in the archives of the
Dutch West India Company. Much of the man-
uscript history of the British colonial period was
in the public offices of London, or transferred to
the library of the British Museum. "While, even

116 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

for the period which had elapsed since the revo-
lution, no provision had been made for the preser-
vation of the pamphlets, the periodicals, and the
daily publications, which, however they may be
despised after their first ephemeral interest has
subsided, become, after the lapse of years, the viv-
id expression of the feelings, the manners, and the
principles of the era which gave them birth.

This memorial was favourably received by the
Legislature, and led to a grant of twelve thousand
dollars in aid of the funds of the society.

The grant was to be received from the avails
of a lottery, and the society unluckily engaged its
credit in the purchase of books and of manuscripts
ere it was known how distant and precarious were
the proceeds of this mode of raising money. It
thus became involved in a debt which was not
extinguished without many and severe sacrifices.
It had, however, before its usefulness was impeded
by the pressure of this debt, published several vol-
umes of transactions, which are of much value.
Its library still remains an evidence of the liberal-
ity of the state, and a monument of the earnestness
with which Clinton furthered such institutions as
were intended to add to the permanent reputation
of the country.

We have stated that Egbert Benson was the
first president of the Historical Society. He was
succeeded, in 1816, by Gouverneur Morris, on

DEWITT CLINTON. 117

whose death Chnton was elected to the vacant
chair. On taking his seat, he dehvered an inau-
gin^al discourse on the history of the Indians of the
State of New-York, which is the most valuable
paper contained in the transactions of this society.
In the year 1814, a number of gentlemen of
scientific taste undertook the formation of a socie-
ty for the cultivation of literature and the encour-
agement of science. The projector of this associa-
tion appears to have been Dr. Hugh Williamson,
who had in early life filled a prominent place fn
the American Philosophical Society, where he had
been associated with Rittenhouse in the celebrated
observations of the transit of Venus.

In the opinion of Williamson, the increase of
population and the central position of New-York
rendered it advisable to form an institution having
the same objects in view as the society in Philadel-
phia. He found a ready and efficient coadjutor in
Clinton, who conceived it due to the reputation of
his native state, and of the city over which he
presided, that they should take a rank in scientific
pursuits consistent with their wealth and popula-
tion. In the formation of tliis society, Drs. MitchiJl
and Hosack, Fulton, and several other distinguish-
ed persons, joined with zeal, together with a num-
ber of younger men, several of whom have since
become celebrated.
'Clinton w^as anxious that Williamson should be

118 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

placed at the head of the new society ; but all the
other associates concurred in opinion that he him-
self was best fitted to fill that station, and he was
accordingly elected its first president. By his ex-
ertions and influence in the Legislature a charter
was obtained, and the New- York Literary and
Philosophical Society went into operation, appa-
rently under the most happy auspices. Its public
proceedings were opened by an address from Clin^
ton, which has been much admired, and which
exhibits evidence of the extent of his reading, and
manifests the variety of his studies.

Clinton continued at the head of the Literary
and Philosophical Society until his death ; but the
brilliant beginnings of that association were not
followed by continued success. The expenses at^-
tendant upon its publications were considered a
heavy burden by many of the members, who with-
drew ; even among those who were wilhng to con-
tinue their subscriptions, the political disputes of
the day, in which Clinton's name became the watch-
word of adverse factions, produced an injurious ef-
fect ; while, in fine, personal jealousies, and the un-
popularity of one of the other officers with many
members of his own profession, created an opposi-
tion to its proceedings which could not be overcome.
A society, which took its rise in the bosom of the
Literary and Philosophical, and which was intend-

DEWITT CLINTON. 119

ed as an aid and not as a rival, engrossed all the
communications of those who were most active in
science; and, after the publication of one quarto
volume and a part of another, its proceedings
ceased. It may be fairly believed, that, had Clin-
ton continued to reside in the City of New-York,
and had given to the Literary and Philosophical
Society the advantage of his presence as presidino-
officer, the decay into which it has fallen might
have been avoided or delayed ; but other more im-
portant pursuits withdrew him from its meetings,
and, with his personal attention, the prosperity of
the society seems to have departed.

It may be questioned at the present day how
far the success of such an institution is compatible
with the habits and manners of the age. The
French Institute no doubt flourishes, but it is sup-
ported by the direct aid of the government, and
its scientific and literary classes receive annual sal-
aries. The Royal Society of Great Britain, if it
receive little direct patronage from the govern-
ment, is able, by the value ascribed by fashion to
the letters F.R.S., to call to the aid of its funds
any number it may choose to elect of the rich or
powerful, from princes of the blood to w^ealthy
merchants.

In spite of these advantages, these institutions
have ceased to exert the influence they once pos-
sessed. The daily papers, and the monthly and

120 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

quarterly miscellanies, make novelties in science as
much objects of their pursuit as the political news
of the day, and thus frequently forestal the trans-
actions of the learned associations, or give in an
abridged form, and at a much lower price, conden-
sed accounts of recent discoveries. Popular and
cheap publications, therefore, interfere with the
sale of the more costly volumes in which the so-
cieties give their transactions to the world.

In the establishment of the Historical and the Lit-
erary and Philosophical Societies, particularly in the
munificent grant he obtained for the former, Clin-
ton exhibited a character very different from al-
most any other American statesman. He is among
the few who seem to have seen that the money ex-
pended in the support of such institutions is not
lost, but will shortly be repaid with interest. In
conformity with this enlightened and liberal view,
he gave to these societies the benefit of his pen in
drawing their charters ; his aid as a member of the
Legislature in procuring the passage of their acts
of incorporation ; and devoted to their prosperity
no inconsiderable share of his time and talent. In
these associations, the advantage to be derived
from his high political standing, and lofty reputa-
tion as a statesman and magistrate, were fully ap-
preciated, in securing unity of action and harmony
among persons necessarily rivals. There were
those, however, who could not brook the control

DEWITT CLINTON. 121

of one whom they styled a lay7nan, and united with
his poUtical opponents in an attempt to ridicule the
holder of such apparently incongruous offices. He
was, at the same time, president of the Academy
of Fine Arts, of the Historical, and of the Lite-
rary and Philosophical Society ; but as he had only
accepted these stations with a view to the public
benefit, he yielded to the first appearance of dis-
content. In the Academy he gave way to Colo-
nel Trumbull, and in the Historical Society to Dr.
Hosack. The result c>^ his resignation was disas-
trous to the interests of both institutions. The dis-
tinguished men w^e have named did not possess, in
the eye of the public, the decided superiority over
their associates which Clinton was always able to
maintain, and both institutions decayed from the
moment he ceased to preside over their delibera-
tions.

If Clinton applied his hands to the practice of
none of the fine arts, he was, notwithstanding,
their liberal patron, and a connoisseur of no little
taste ; his contributions to the history of the ab-
origines of our state may well place him on a
level with any writer of that class which America
has produced ; and his hundred speeches, address-
es, and reports, sufficiently exhibit his literary
abilities. As a cultivator of philosophy, in the
sense in which it is familiarly received, he ranks
still higher, and was, as we have already stated,

L

122 AMEKICAN BIOGRAPHY.

not only a diligent student in natural history in its
several branches, but made several interesting dis-
coveries.

In the first volume of the Transactions of the
Literary and Philosophical Society, he published
some remarks on the fishes of the western waters
of the State of New-York, in a letter to his friend
Dr. Mitchill. In this he illustrates the fact, now so
well known, that, in variety, in abundance, and in
delicacy, they are not surpassed by any in the
world.

In the first part of the second volume of the
same Transactions, an article by Clinton is insert-
ed on certain phenomena of the great lakes of
America. These he is inclined to attribute to vol-
canic action. In the same volume we have a me-
moir by him on the antiquities discovered in the
western part of the State of New-York.

To the New-York Medical and Physical Jour-
nal he communicated some remarks on the Colum-
ba Migratoria, the passenger or common wild
pigeon ; a bird which he deems peculiar to North
America, and whose habits and history are very
interesting. In the same work may be found an
account of the Salmo Otsego, or Otsego bass, a
fish of peculiar excellence, which is found in great
abundance in the lake of that name, where the
eastern branch of the Susquehanna has its princi-
pal source. This fish, strange as it may seem, had

DEWITT CLINTON. 123

not been described, and, as its name imports, had
been confounded by the uninformed with the genus
perca, of which bass is the famihar name among
the settlers of Dutch extraction.

To the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural Histo-
ry he communicated a description of a new spe-
cies of fish in the Hudson River, and a paper of
some length on the hirundo fulva. The first of
these, although familiar to all who have seen nets
drawn in the bay of New-York, had not been re-
marked by Mitchill, whose researches had been re-
stricted to the specimens furnished by those who
supply the markets ; and, from its small size, it
had by many been considered as the fry of a lar-
ger fish. In the second paper he gives several in-
teresting remarks on birds of the swallow kind.
The migratory habits of the bird in question, and
its other peculiarities, are set forth by him in an at-
tractive manner, and illustrated by many facts, the
result of close personal observation. His common-
place books abound with extracts from authors
who have written on the habits of the swallow,
and with memoranda of his own inquiries.

In the discourse delivered before the New- York
Historical Society, he evinces with what interest
he had studied the aborigines of our country.
These "Romans," as he styled them, "of the
Western World" found in him an able historian,
and a strenuous asserter of their prowess and tal-

124 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ent. He, besides, investigated, with something of
the closeness of medical inquiry, the peculiarities
of the physical constitution of the Indian; and
among his letters and memoranda are to be found
many well-grounded conjectures on the laws of
life, as modified in both sexes by the habits of
a savage life.

From the freedom from all bias to preconceived
opinions with which Clinton prosecuted his studies
in natural history, and from the love he manifested
to that science, there can be no question that pub-
lic cares alone prevented him from attaining a tri-
imiphant eminence in investigations of this char-
acter. In the words of one who well knew him,
and was the confidant of his philosophical pursuits,
" He loved to dwell upon every incident associa-
ted w^ith the labours and services of naturalists j
from Hennepin to Kalm, everything was familiar
to him; the great Swede was ever a topic of de-
light, and the heroic achievements of Cuvier the
theme of his admiration. So much did he, at a
later period, become enamoured of the genius
and skill of the modern French school of natural-
ists that there is reason to conclude, that he would
finally have adopted the natural system of Jussieu
in preference to the artificial method of Linnaeus,
and would have chosen the improved nomencla-
ture of the Parisian savans rather than that of the
English writers, whose works he had studied with

DEWITT CLINTON. 125

deference, and to whose authority he had original-
ly bowed w^ith submission."

In addition to his communications to American
societies and scientific periodicals, he maintained a
correspondence with several of the most eminent
naturalists in Europe, and, among others, with the
late distinguished president of the Linnsean Society
of London, Sir James Edward Smith. Of that
institution Clinton was elected an associate, as a
just tribute to his zeal in behalf of Natural Sci-
ence. Several of these letters have been publish-
ed, and exhibit close and accurate observation,
followed up by sound induction.

His pursuits as a naturalist were not limited to
the narrow object of acquiring individual reputa-
tion as a cultivator of the science, but were pur-
sued chiefly in reference to their bearings upon the
wealth and prosperity of the state. He saw, by
improvident legislation, and the improvement, as it
was styled, of sites for water-power, the vast native
wealth which existed in the fisheries rapidly de-
caying ; and, in the knowledge of the history of
the finned race, he sought the means of prevent-
ing their diminution, and, in some cases, their total
extinction. He inquired deeply and laboriously
into the modes of stocking ponds and lakes with
fish, and sought the species best adapted to the
purpose. On this subject he corresponded with

L2

126 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the chief magistrate of the neighbouring State of
New-Jersey, who had views of the same kind.

The circumstances of CHnton's laborious pubUc
career left him no opportunity for applying tJie re-
sult of his researches to practical purposes ; but
Governor Mahlon Dickerson, in his philosophic re-
treat at Succasunney, has shown the practicability
of the schemes in which they took so strong a mu-
tual interest.

Impelled by the same patriotic views, he prose-
cuted an inquiry into the habits and characters of
the zizania aquatica, or wild rice. This plant, a
native of the lakes of America, was, in his opin-
ion, calculated to support an extended population,
and worthy of the title of the " bread-corn of the
North."

In his tours as canal commissioner he found
growing near Utica a species of wheat, which he
collected, examined, and described. It is well
known that the origin of the cereal gramina, and
particularly of wheat, the most important of them
all to civilized nations, is involved in obscurity.
From the very earliest date of historical records
they have been the objects of cultivation, and none
of them had been traced with certainty to any na-
tive locality. Upon the belief that wheat is found
growing wild near the eastern shore of the Cas-
pian, has been founded an argument that central
Asia is the cradle of the human race; and this

DEWITT CLINTON. 127

circumstance was supposed to throw light upon the
early history of mankind. Here was an adverse
fact, by which the whole argument was over-
thrown, or rendered capable of leading to the in-
credible inference that the State of New-York had
been the earliest seat of the progenitors of the na-
tions of Europe and Asia. This discovery of Clin-
ton, therefore, although hardly noticed by his coun-
trymen, procured him much reputation among the
learned in Europe ; and the diplomas of many so-
cieties founded for the cultivation of natural history
were showered upon him.

In this instance, his intimate friend and associate,
Dr. Mitchill, was heard to complain, not with feel-
ings of envy, but of admiration, that Clinton had
the happiness, by seizing upon a happy accident
and making a skilful use of it, to achieve honours
and estimation beyond those granted to almost any
American. Other observers might have passed
this plant as the accidental offspring of the cultiva-
ted wheat, while Clinton had the knowledge and
the tact of observation by which it was shown to
differ sufficiently to disprove such an origin, and
yet to fall with certainty into the same species.

In the words of the same scientific friend who
has already been quoted,* " Six, I beheve, was the

* J. W, Francis, M.D., in his " Discourse before the Ly-
cevim of Natural History."

128 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

number of species of triticum (wheat) stated by
Linnaeus. Botanists have now increased the num-
ber to 22. If the wild wheat discovered in Oneida
county shall be found to be an indigenous and
not an imported grain, and of spontaneous growth,
we may justly boast of the Triticum Araericanum.
Clinton says that it delights in a wet soil, which is
not congenial to the wheat of the Old Continent :
it presents not only a different aspect, but ap-
pears to have peculiar and characteristic qualities.
Should these conjectures be realized, our state may
claim the birthplace of Ceres as well as Sicily,
where mythology has yielded to her the title of
queen ; and the goddess enjoy two special abodes,
our fertile West as well as her favourite Enna.
A harvest, in more respects than one, awaits the
discussion of the question by the American nat-
uralist."

DEWITT CLINTON. 129

CHAPTER X.

Description of the Water Communications of the
State of Mew-York. — Use made of them by the
Indians. — Expedition of General Clinton on the
Susquehanna. — Views of Lieutenant-Governor
C olden. — Tour of Washington to Wood Creek.
— His Predilections for the Route to the Chesa-
peake.—Clinton'' s liberal Policy in relation to
this Question.

The Atlantic coast of the United States is sep-
arated from the Valley of the Mississippi and the
basins of the great lakes by a system of mountain
chains. No less than five distinct ranges can be
traced, and, in many places, a greater number of
ridges are met with in passing from tide-water to
the streams of the interior. This system of mount-
ains extends from the frontiers of Canada to the
State of Georgia. Its outer chain is made up of
a number of short and separate ridges, extending
north and south, and is therefore divided by valleys
oblique to its general direction, which is northeast
and southwest. Through these valleys a number
of streams, of greater or less magnitude, make
their way ; but of these, the Hudson alone is nav-
igable through the ridge for vessels of any mag-
nitude. This river bursts through this rocky bar-

130 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

rier m a channel nowhere less than 1000 yards
in width, and deep enough for vessels of the lar-
gest size ; but it does not cut any of the other
ridges. The Susquehanna, on the other hand,
rising in the State of New-York, and whose west-
ern branch has its head at no great distance from
Lake Erie and from that of a principal branch
of the Ohio, cuts through all the ridges of which
we have spoken. No other river makes its w^ay
through the whole system ; and thus the Valley of
the Susquehanna might appear to be pointed out by
nature as the proper channel for a navigable com-
munication between the lakes and the Atlantic.
This river . is, however, so rapid in the lower part
of its course, and its upper valley is separated by
barriers of such height from the basin of Lake On-
tario, that it could neither be navigated by an as-
cending trade, nor reached by the settlers of the
more fertile parts of the State of New-York. On
the other hand, the Mohawk, the most important
branch of the Hudson, has its course in a valley
that opens towards the west, and merges in the
basin of Lake Ontario. Its greatest fall is immedi-
ately at its junction with the Hudson ; and thence,
with the exception of an insuperable rapid at the
Little Falls, it was accessible to a navigation in
small vessels, both in the ascending and descend-
ing direction, as far as the ancient Fort Stanwix,
the site of the modern village of Rome.

DEWITT CLINTON. 131

In this vicinity is a swamp, whence, in times of
flood, the waters run in opposite directions towards
the Hudson and Lake Ontario. A short portage
at this place led to Wood Creek, a deep and slug-
gish stream which falls into the Oneida Lake.
The outlet of the Oneida Lake, after receiving the
Onondago, unites with the Seneca outlet to form
the Oswego River, and through the latter the
navigation was practicable as far as Lake Onta-
rio.

This navigation from Schenectady to Oswego
was practised by European traders at a very early
date. It is even probable that the Dutch, who at
first limited their views to traffic, had. reached
Lake Ontario before the agricultural settlements
of the Colony of New Netherlands were com-
menced. At any rate, the route was well known
and practised by Dutch traders before the con-
quest by the British; and in 1810, the commis-
sioners appointed to explore the country in refer-
ence to a canal navigation, found at the outlet of
the river obvious traces of the Dutch trading-
houses, separate and clearly distinct from the
ruins of the fortifications with which the French
and English had, in succession, occupied that im-
portant position. It appears, however, that in the
disturbances which attended and followed the ces-
sion to England, the traders, deprived of support,
yielded to the growing influence of the French.

132 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

The Seneca outlet, which, as we have seen,
joins the Onondago at Three River Point, was
practicable for boats into the lake whence it pro-
ceeds, and through the Cayuga outlet the lake of
the same name could be reached. At the head of
the Seneca and of Lake Cayuga were the most
remote points of the inland communication.

Lake Ontario, whose southern shore affords nu-
merous good harbours, was not unsafe for boats
which coasted along it to the Niagara River, where
they were carried over the portage to Schlosser,
and thence passed into Lake Erie.

A more southern hne of communication was
also practicable. Leaving the Mohawk at Fort
Plain, boats were carried over a long portage to
the Otsego Lake, whence they could descend the
main branch of the Susquehanna to Chemung
Point. Llere, entering into the Tioga branch, they
might ascend the sluggish stream of that river al-
most to its source, and to points at no great dis-
tance from navigable waters of the Alleghany, an
important branch of the Ohio.

The last-mentioned navigation was applied to
great advantage during the Revolutionary war.
The right wing of the army intended to act
against the Indians was assembled on the Mo-
hawk, whence it threatened the confederated na-
tions on the front; but this was a mere feint; for,
crossing to the Otsego Lake, it was embai'ked on

BEWITT CLINTON. 133

the Susquehanna, and borne upon its current to
a junction \vith the main body of the army at
Chemung Point. Thence the united force moved
upon the rear and flank of the strategic position
occupied by the Tories and their savage alhes.
The important result^ of this brilHant miUtary op-
eration are too well known to be repeated here.

The communications of which we have spoken
were used with great skill by the five confederated
nations of Iroquois, in their wars with hostile
tribes. By the Hudson their canoes descended,
bearing forces which reduced to subjection the
Lenni Lenape or Algonquin races, to the extreme
end of Long Island. By Lake Ontario and the
Saint Lawrence their war parties penetrated un-
til they met the first French expedition on the
Island of Montreal. On Lake Erie they defeated
in a naval action, and almost exterminated, a cog-
nate nation. The Susquehanna afforded them the
means of replenishing the ranks of the expedi-
tions they sent into Virginia, and which penetrated
into North Carolina, where an invading body of
Mingoes founded the powerful Tuscarora nation.
On the west the Alleghany was the channel by
which a perpetual war was waged with the In-
dians of the Ohio.

In these expeditions a peculiar description of
vessel was employed, the bark canoe. This was
so light, that, although capable of carrying ten or

M

134 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

twelve men, with their arms and provisions, it
could be readily transported over the portages on
the shoulders of two of them. The traders of Eu-
ropean origin borrowed the mode of constructing
these vessels from the Indians, but the Canadian
French made a much more extensive and success-
ful use of them than the British colonists. They
were also employed in the military expeditions of
the French; and, having obtained the command of
Lake Ontario, on which they built armed vessels,
they formed communications both for commercial
and warlike purposes wdth the Ohio and the more
western branches of the Mississippi. In this man-
ner the British colonies were gradually surround-
ed by a chain of French posts, extending from
Lake Champlain to the mouth of the Mississippi.
In the mean time, the merchants of Albany con-
tented themselves with trading with such Indians
as actually visited that place, or with selling to
the French traders such goods of British manufac-
ture as were absolutely necessary for the Indian
market. The idea of a communication for the
purposes of settlement, and of the commerce
which would thus be created in the productions
of agriculture, seems never to have occurred to
any one ; and no clear estimate of the advantages
of a direct trade w4th the Indians of the State of
New-York, by means of parties sent out for the
purpose, was formed by mercantile men.

DEWITT CLINTON. 135

Lieutenant-Governor Golden seems to have
been the first to perceive the danger to which
the Province of New- York, and others even more
remote from Ganada, were exposed, in conse-
quence of the influence which French traders and
missionaries were acquiring over the Five Nations,
hitherto the firm friends, first of the Dutch, and
subsequently of the English. He, in consequence,
made diligent inquiries into the communications
by water which existed in the western part of the
present State of New-York, and, having obtained
all the information then accessible, made a com-
munication to Governor Burnet, in which he sets
forth the dangers of the colonies, and proposes, as
a mode of removing them, a direct trade from Al-
bany with the Indians. In this memoir he points
out the route from the Hudson by the portage to
Schenectady, the Mohawk, Wood Greek, Oneida
Lake, the Onondago and Oswego rivers, to Lake
Ontario. He then states that a river coming from
the country of the Senecas joins the Oswego, and
extends to so great a distance as probably to ap-
proach Lake Erie. If in this opinion he was in-
correct, it still shows his views of the true policy,
which was to avoid the waters controlled by, or
accessible to, a rival nation, and to seek for com-
munications wholly within the jurisdiction of the
colony.

This memoir of Golden was productive of im-

136 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

portant consequences. Under the influence of
Burnet, the trade with the French was interdicted,
and a chain of posts was estabhshed along the
line of • the Mohawk, the Oneida outlets, and
Onondago River. Finally a fort was erected at
Oswego itself, and occupied by a permanent gar-
rison of troops, raised and supported by the colo-
ny. The benefits of the Indian trade were thus
secured for the moment to the merchants of Alba-
ny, and the fortress of Oswego became an object
of jealousy to the French.

At this time the articles of traffic were the sup-
plies for a scanty population, deriving its subsist-
ence from the chase on the one hand, and the
valuable article of furs on the other. These arti-
cles were of little bulk compared with the value
set upon them in their respective markets ; and the
small canoes of bark, passing through shallow and
rapid streams, and transported on the shoulders of
men over rough portages, would not have been
insufficient for the purpose. Golden seems there-
fore to have limited his views to this mode of
communication, and could not have anticipated
the time when the homes of the mighty tribes
who had reduced to their sway so much of the
present United States, and had alone been capa-
ble of resisting the science of European warfare,
should be possessed by an agricultural population,
become the seat of commerce in the luxmies of

DEW ITT CLINTON. 137

the most distant climes, and aspire to the triumphs
of manufacturing industry. For the wants of a
people exercising these three great branches of in-
dustry, the light and frail barks of the Indian tra-
der are entirely inadequate ; and, while we find
in his memoir the first good account of the water
communications of our state, we see in it no hint
of the importance of improving them by artificial
means, and of rendering them subservient to the
wants of civilized life.

Sir Henry Moore seems to have been the first
who extended his views beyond the trade with the
Indians. In one of his speeches to the Legislature,
he points out the practicability of improving the
navigation of the rivers of the state by means of
sluices (locks), as in the canal of Languedoc. It
is to be remarked, that this communication was
made at a time when the parent country was
without canals, and that he was, in consequence,
compelled to have recourse to the experience of
France ; and this is, perhaps, the first of the numer-
ous instances in which Anglo-America has, in the
project, if not in the completed invention, taken
the lead of Britain. This project was, how-
ever, in advance both of the spirit of the age and
of the wants of the population. The settlers of
the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys were too few
in numbers to support such an enterprise by their
trade, and the Little Falls of the former river were

M2

/

138 AMERICAN BIOGRAPH'Y.

the farthest limit of agricultural industry. The
prolific race of New-England had not yet crossed
the Hudson in its search of land; and that the
wilds occupied by the Five Nations should be-
come the seat of a rich and industrious policy,
was beyond the limit of reasonable anticipation.

Imperfect as were these navigations of which
we have spoken,' they were, notwithstanding, em-
ployed with fatal effect against us in the early
part of the Revolutionary war. All the confeder-
ated nations except the Oneidas ranged them-
selves under the British banner, and from their
central position alternately invaded the settle-
ments on the Mohawk and on the Susquehanna.
Their supplies of arms and clothing were derived
from Canada by the way of Oswego, and by this
channel the corps of St. Leger advanced, for the
purpose of forcing his way through the Valley of
the Mohawk to a junction with the army of Bur-
goyne.

That communications so dangerous in war might
be applied to advantageous purposes in peace, was
obvious ; and Washington, who had watched with
anxiety the operations of the British forces, no
sooner found a respite from his military toils, than
he proceeded along the Mohawk, and examined
in person the practicability of forming a union be-
tween it and Wood Creek. He also viewed the
portage between the Mohawk and the head of the

DEWITT CLINTON. 139

Susquehanna ; and it is clear that his survey was
made in conformity with his favourite view of
making the Chesapeake the great centre of the
trade of the United States. That it was pointed
out for this purpose by nature he firmly believed,
and thus his broad views of the general benefit
concurred with his local attachments to the region
of his nativity. Should we look to natural cir-
cumstances alone, we should be inclined to think
that he was right. The broad sestuary of the
Chesapeake, with its innumerable bays, presents
an extent of navigable communication far greater
than all the streams of which New-York is the ap-
propriate port. Its shores were then far more fer-
tile than any settled part of the northern or eastern
states, and supported a greater population ; and,
in addition to the waters already navigable, the
Valley of the Susquehanna presented the shortest
practicable line of communication by artificial
means between tide-water and streams whose
sources interlocked with the tributaries of the St.
Lawrence, while, through those of James River
and the Kanhaway, the Ohio is approachable in
the most direct line. It is probably fortunate for
the City of New- York that the state of the times
w^as not suited to enterprises of internal improve-
ment while Washington retained his paranoount in-
fluence both in the councils of the general govern-
ment and of his native state. It is also fortunate

140 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

that the jealousy of the states of Pennsylvania
and Maryland prevented, until recently, the exe-
cution of a canal in the lower part of the Valley
of the Susquehanna ; while, under false views of
economy, the improvement of so much of its up-
per course as lies in Pennsylvania was retarded
and opposed. Clinton, however, warmly as he
desired the welfare of his native state, was govern-
ed by no exclusive sectional views, and carefully
weighed the relative advantages of the routes by
the Susquehanna and the Mohawk, with a view
both to general and local interests. His papers
contain memoranda on this subject, which show
the attention he bestowed upon it. When, how-
ever, the State of Pennsylvania awoke to a sense of
its true interests, Clinton furthered, by all the means
in his power, the success of an application for fa-
cilities by which the artificial navigations of the
State of New-York might be brought into connex-
ion with those projected in the Valley of the Sus-
quehanna. Not content with this, he accepted an
invitation to visit Pennsylvania, to enforce by his
eloquence, and the influence of his presence, the
praiseworthy attempts of the patriotic citizens of
that state in urging the Legislature to emulate the
glories and benefits of the New-York canals.

DEWITT CLINTON. 141

CHAPTER XL

Western Limit of the early Settlements on the
Mohawk. — Claims of Massachusetts. — These
Claims are partially Admitted — Influx of Em-
igration from JYeW'England. — Voyage of the
Wadsworths. — State Roads. — Western Inland
Lock JYavigation Company. — Its slow Progress
and unsuccessful Result. — Communication be-
tween the Hudson and Lake Champlain. —
JSCorthern Carial.

At the close of the Revolutionary war, the ex-
treme western settlements of the State of New-
York extended only a short distance beyond the
Little Falls of the Mohawk. Even these had
been disturbed and driven in during the war, as
was Cherry Valley, which had been the scene of
a massacre by the united forces of the Indians and
Tories. The settlers of the Valley of the Mohawk,
except for a short distance above Schenectady,
w^ere all of German blood. A relic of Palatines,
driven from the banks of the Rhine by the arms of
Louis XIV., had received assistance from the gov-
ernment of Queen Anne, and had been directed to
the Colony of New- York. Their earliest seat was
on the Schoharie Creek, whence for several years

142 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

their only communication with the other parts of
the colony was by a footpath, over which their
products were carried on the backs of men, as
was even the grain intended to be ground for their
own consumption. The settlers in the Valley of
the Mohawk made use of the river as far as Sche-
nectady, whence a tolerable carriage-road led to
Albany.

The cessation of hostilities speedily led to an
extension of cultivation as far as the Indian title
had been extinguished ; and the enterprising na-
tives of New-England began to turn their eyes to-
w^ards the new countries of the West, as a recep-
tacle for the swarms of their teeming population.

The State of Massachusetts set up a claim both
to the right of soil and of government of all the
country not actually occupied which lay north of
the forty-second degree of latitude, and thus to
all that part of the state which lies west of Utica.
A compromise was effected, by which the jurisdic-
tion was held by New-York, but the right of soil
to a large portion of the tract w^as vested in Mas-
sachusetts. Much of this was almost immediately
sold to parties who undertook to extinguish the In-
dian title.

The territory which New- York had retained for
itself, namely, all lying east of the Seneca Lake,
and extending from Lake Ontario southward to a
line nearly coinciding with the southern end of the

DEWITT CLINTON. 143

first-named lake was divided by the Legislature
of New-York into lots, which were granted to the
soldiers and officers w^ho had served in the State
line during the Revolutionary war. The state
thus departed from the policy of the colonial gov-
ernment, which had granted large tracts and man-
ors to a few^ favourites, who had endeavoured to
perpetuate the system of leasehold property. Such
a tenure was repugnant to the natives of New-
England, among whom, in the land of their birth,
it was unknown. As the habits of soldiers are
rarely adapted to the purpose of clearing and set-
tling a wilderness, many of their lots were speedi-
ly offered in the market, and real estate in fee thus
became accessible to the emigrant. Even where
the great grants made by the State of Massachu-
setts existed, it became necessary to offer the lands
for sale instead of attempting to lease them.

The tide of emigration was thus directed into
the western part of the state. Those who pro-
posed to settle embarked at Schenectady in boats,
and followed the course of the trader, or of the
Indians themselves, through the streams and over
the portages we have described.

Among the earliest of these pioneers of civili-
zation were James and William Wadsworth, na-
tives of the State of Connecticut, who left their
homes at an early age, and abandoned the society
of which, by their education and connexions, they

144 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

might have been' the ornament, for the purpose of
reclaiming a wilderness. The voyage of these
enterprising men, by the Hudson, which had not
ceased to be regarded as perilous, and through the
unimproved water-courses, which have been de-
scribed, would furnish a tale of no little mterest,
while the record of their persevering and success-
ful labours would serve as an admirable lesson to
the young and ambitious. Understanding fully
the prejudices and feelings of their eastern breth-
ren, they saw that no region, however fertile,
could allure them to settle in it, if they could not
obtain the lands on other terms than those of lease-
hold. They also knew that the greater part ot
the emigrating population had no other property
than their own strong hmbs and resolute spirits,
and that thus they could not purchase. They, in
consequence, introduced the system of contracts,
by which the industrious could be assured of ob-
taining the fee of their settlements by the fruits of
their labours, while the landholder was secured a
fair price for his property. This method speedily
acquired almost universal adoption, and has con-
tributed in no small degree to peopling the west
of the state with a hardy and independent popu-
lation. It, in fact, did away with all the objec-
tions to the immense size of the tracts granted by
Massachusetts, which covered all the country west

DEV^TITT CLINTON. 145

of the Seneca Lake, and formed what would other-
wise have been an odious monopoly.

The modes in which the early settlers penetra-
ted to the more remote points, and by which the
foreign products that have become the neces-
saries of civilized life were conveyed to them,
were, as may be seen from the account of the
original state of the communications, slow and la-
borious.

The growing importance of the region demand-
ed means of conveyance, which, if not cheaper,
should be more rapid, and the state was induced
to make a road, which, taking its departure from
Utica, was gradually extended to Buffalo. With
the state road, two lines of turnpike, the one fol-
lowing the Valley of the Mohawk, the other pass-
ing through Cherry Valley, were brought into com-
munication. And, by means of these, the cost of
transportation by land was brought to a price as
low as that by water, in spite of the improvements
which were made in the navigation in the interval.

In the year 1792, a company was chartered un-
der the name of the Western Inland Lock Navi-
gation Company. This association commenced its
operations at the Little Falls of the Mohawk,
around which a short canal, with a number of
locks, was constructed ; this was finished in 1796*
The next step was to unite the Mohawk with
Wood Creek at Fort Stanwix ; and, finally, an ob^

K

146 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

struction in the Mohawk at German Flats was
overcome by a short cut and two locks. With
these works, the improvements of the company
ceased in 1799 ; and, although the charter permit-
ted the extension of its operations to the Seneca
Lake, nothing farther was done except in the way
of surveys for the improvement of the Oneida out-
let. Boats carrying seven or eight tons could,
after the improvements which have been mention-
ed were finished, make their way from the head of
the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes to Schenectady;
but the voyage occupied several weeks, and was
both laborious and dangerous. The labour of
men was the principal dependance for progress,
as the structure of the vessels allowed sails to be
used only when the wind was fair, and as towing-
paths did not exist on any part of the communi-
cation. The return was still more difficult. The
Mohawk, when full, could hardly be ascended at
all, and, v/hen less rapid, was so much interrupted
by shallows and bars as to cause the most annoy-
ing delays, and to render it necessary to limit the
upward freight to Httle more than half of that
which could be carried down the stream. Finally,
the necessity of discharging at Schenectady, and
the long portage thence to Albany, gave to the
route by water but little advantage in cost over
that by the roads, while it was vastly more te-
dious

DEWITT CLINTON. 147

In this state the communicatians with the west-
ern district remained until the Erie Canal was com-
menced. That region, expressly suited by nature
for the growth of wheat, could not send it to
market, because the cost of transportation from all
points to the west of Lake Cayuga exceeded the
value in Albany. The fertile district beyond this
lake was therefore either to be condemned to sol-
itude, or to be tlirow^n into dependance on the
British possessions in Canada. But this danger
was not limited to the State of New-York; the
whole of the shores of the upper lakes, a region of
much greater extent and almost equal fertility,
was in the same position. A temporary impulse
was given to the cultivation of the western district
durinor the war of 1812, when the demand for the
supply of the armies brought a market to the doors
of the settlers ; and now, for the first time, money
entered into the operation of trade, which had
hitherto consisted of little r^ore than barter and
credits on the books of the .nerchants. In 18 10,
Buffalo counted only forty houses, while the pres-
ent site of Rochester exhibited a clearing of a
few acres and a single log house. ^

The statesman who took the lead in procuring
the act of incorporation of the Western Naviga-
tion Company was General Schuyler. He has
not hesitated to avow his obligations for hints de-
rived from Elkanah Watson j but the soul of the

148 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

undertaking existed in the enterprising merchants
of the City of New-York, who were willing to ad-
venture their capital in this bold undertaking.
Among these are particularly to be noticed Robert
Bowne, Thomas Eddy, and John Atkinson. The
operations of the Western Inland Lock Navigation
Company were of considerable benefit to the pub-
lic, and, until the roads of which we have spoken
were constructed, furnished the only channel for
trade ; but they were wholly unproductive to their
stockholders, upon some of whom they entailed
ruin, and they ceased to be of any real value to
the public after the system of turnpikes was in-
troduced, except by maintaining a competition.
The inefficiency of the operations of this company
grew out of a radical defect in its plans. The ob-
ject which was kept continually in view was that
of improving the navigation of natural streams
in their own beds, as contradistinguished to the
method of making an artificial channel to serve as
a substitute for the stream throughout its whole
course, with its obvious extension into canals
over grounds lying far from any natural water-
course.

So long as mere preliminary calculations were
alone resorted to, it might have been thought best
to improve the means afforded by nature ; the ori-
ginal cost of such operations is the least, and it
might be hoped that the low rate of tolls which

DEWITT CLINTON. 149

would be the consequence would more than com-
pensate any extra cost in propelling the vessels.
By actual trial, however, all such calculations have
been shown to be unfounded ; for the difficulties
and delays which attend a navigation in the bed of
a stream, subject to alternate floods and droughts,
are such as to set all calculations at defiance ; and
the uniform result of experience is, that the trans-
portation on a canal wholly artificial is far less
costly than any attempt at improving the bed of
a turbulent and variable river. It is probable,
however, that, had this fact been well understood,
the Western Inland Lake Navigation Company
would never have entered upon its enterprise ; for
the capital for a canal even from Albany to Utica
could not have been collected among individuals
at so early a date, and a knowledge of the true
state of the case would have prevented the little
that was subscribed from being contributed. The
ill success of this enterprise was made use of as an
argument against any farther operations; and it
was urged that, where individual enterprise had
failed, the state could not hope to be successful.

On the other hand, it was fortunate that this en-
terprise had not been attended with such profitable
results as to induce its proprietors to desire to re-
tain the chartered privileges they possessed, and
thus to prevent action on the part of the state. It
would, in truth, have been a most disastrous cir-

N2

150 AMERICAN BIOGUAPHY.

cumstance had this great hne of internal commu-
nication become private property. The delays,
which the public did not regard, and the obstacles,
which the sovereign power overcame with facili-
ty, would have disheartened a private association
or prevented its progress ; but, in the event of
complete success, a monopoly would have been
created which would have had interests very dif-
ferent from those of the public, and a continual
struggle, fatal perhaps to the one, and injurious to
the other, must have been the result.

It has been reserved for the experience of the
State of New-York, when compared with that of
some of its neighbours, to exhibit the advantage of
keeping the great lines of internal communication
in the hands of the sovereign power. It has also
solved the question of the propriety of contracting
a debt to be applied to the purposes of public im-
provement. The experience of New-York has,
indeed, been more fortunate than could have been
anticipated; for the interest of the debt has not
only been paid, but the principal in a great meas-
ure extinguished by the profits of the enterprise.
But it hardly requires a demonstration to prove
that, even had the New-York canals failed to pay
the interest on their cost, the state must still have
derived a benefit, which would have rendered a
tax to pay this interest no real burden to the com-
munity ; and we shall find it recorded, to the credit

DEWITT CLINTON. 151

both of the subject of our memoir and of the Le-
gislature of the state, that, when the practicabihty
of the canals was once ascertained, a resort even
to direct taxation, that bugbear of aspiring politi-
cians, would not have been a barrier to their pro-
ceedings.

Besides the route from Albany to the westward,
the continuous valleys of the upper Hudson and
Lake Champlain pointed out a channel for an arti-
j5cial navigation to the north. There was a time
when the latter appeared even more important than
the former. It was, when the subject of canals first
attracted the attention of the Legislature, the seat
of a more dense population and more extensive
commerce. Circumstances in the soil and climate,
however, have prevented this region from increas-
ing in wealth as rapidly as the West. The line of
the Hudson attracted attention even earlier than
that of the Mohawk, and was intended to have
been rendered practicable by a lock navigation,
under a charter granted the same year as that of
the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company.
It was also improved by the state at the same time
wath the Erie Canal ; but the results and conse-
quences of this enterprise fell far short of those of
the Western Canal. We shall not have occasion
to refer to them hereafter, but can speak of the
Northern Canal as a most praiseworthy enterprise,

152 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

which has fulfilled every expectation that could
have reasonably been formed in respect to it.

It is in its bearing upon the defence of the coun-
try that the importance of the Champlain Canal is
most apparent. The United States is more vulner-
able by the line of that lake and the Hudson than
in any other part, and in two successive wars the
British government has chosen it for the direction
of hostile operations. At present, by the aid of
steam communications on the river and lake, and
of the canal which joins them, the same army may
be ready to act, as circumstances may direct, in the
defence of the City of New-York, or on the North-
ern frontier ; and within four days, a body of troops
collected on the seacoast to oppose invasion, may,
if the danger of descent be over, be threatening
Montreal or moving upon Quebec. The latter is
the key of the more valuable British possessions ;
and, should hostilities again arise, it is hardly
probable that, in defiance of the experience of
the late war, the importance of acting against it,
to the exclusion of all other objects, will be over*
looked.

DEW ITT CLINTON. 153

CHAPTER XII.

Earliest Legislation of the State of JYew-York
in relation to Canals. — Petition of Colles. —
Report of Jeffrey Smith. — Messages of George
Clinton. — Resolution of Judge Forman. — Sur-
vey made hy Geddes, who first demonstrated the
Practicability of a Route to Lake Erie. — Es-
says of Jesse Hawley. — Resolution of Judge
Piatt. — Appointment of a Board of Commis-
sioners, of which Clinton is one. — Character of
Morris, the senior Commissioner. — JVotice of
the other Commissioners.

Much discussion has been held, and innumera-
ble tracts have been published, in respect to the
merit of projecting or carrying into effect the ca-
nal poKcy. of the State of New- York. The great-
er part of these have grown out of mutual mis-
understandings of the terms and subject of the
dispute. It never has been doubted, that not only
a few distinguished individuals, but even thousands
of public-spirited citizens, have contributed, with
the whole force of their talents and influence, to
the progress and completion of the canals, yet no
one of these was either so efficient or so influential
as in any way to impair the claim set up for Clin-

154 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ton as having associated his name in imperishable
characters with that of the great system of inter-
nal improvements, of which the Erie Canal is the
chief.

The earliest legislative action in relation to ca-
nals in the State of New- York was in 1784. An
engineer of the name of Colles, who, before the
Revolution, had been employed in an unsuccess-
ful attempt to supply the City of New-York with
water, petitioned the Legislature to aid him in an
attempt to remove obstructions in the Mohawk
River. A favourable report was made, but no le-
gislative action followed. In the succeeding year
he obtained a grant of $ 125 for the purpose " of
enabling him to make an essay towards the removal
of these obstructions, and making a plan thereof."
During the next session (1786), and, as it appears,
in pursuance of the plan of Colles, a bill was in-
troduced by Mr. Jeffrey Smith, of Long Island,
" for improving the navigation of the Mohawk
River, Wood Creek, and Onondago River, with a
view of opening an inland navigation to Oswego,
and for extending the same, if practicable, to Lake
Erie." This bill did not become a law. In it w^e
find the first idea of extending a navigable com-
munication to Lake Erie, but the route by Os-
wego and Lake Ontario is evidently the one point-
ed out.

(xovernor George CHnton, in the year 179 J,

DEWITT CLINTON. 155

called the attention of the Legislature to the im-
portance of internal communications in general.
The committee to whom this part of the speech
was referred, reported a law, in which, among oth-
er things, provision was made for a survey of the
ground between the Mohawk and Wood Creek,
and farther proceedings w^ere held w^hich led to no
valuable result. In 1792, the governor referred to
the report made under the law of the preceding
session, and again called the attention of the Le-
gislature to the subject. The result of their ac-
tion has been already spoken of, as the law incor-
porating the " Western Inland Lock Navigation
Company."

From this time no farther action in respect to
canals was had, either by the executive or the Le-
gislature of the state, until 1808, when Judge For-
man, at that time a member of the Legislature
from Onondago county, proposed a concurrent
resolution, to direct a survey to be made of the
" most eligible and direct route for a canal from
the Hudson River to Lake Erie." Judge Forman
himself has stated, that he was led to propose this
inquiry in consequence of his perusal of the article
" Canal" in Rees's Encyclopedia, in which he found
a full exposition of the advantages of canals over
attempts to improve the navigation of rivers ; and
that he therefore conceived a preference to a con-
tinuous communication, over the extension of the

156 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

operations of the Western Inland Lock Navigation
Company and, th6 lockage around the Falls of Ni-
agara, for the last of which an act of incorpora-
tion had been obtained from the Legislature. The
resolution was passed, the survey was made by
Judge Geddes, and the perfect practicability of the
route demonstrated ; yet the discovery of this most
important fact led to no result, nor does it even ap-
pear to have influenced the subsequent action of
the Legislature.

We have now to return to the pubhcation of a
series of essays, which, although neglected when
published, and for a long time forgotten, had an in-
fluence which the practicable plan and available
surveys of Judge Geddes had not. Jesse Hawley,
in the year 1807, wrote a number of papers under
the signature of Hercules, which appeared in the
Genesee Messenger. In these essays he proposes
a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson, to be con-
structed from its origin in that lake to Utica, upon
the principle of an inclined plane. His project is
founded on the report of Mr. Elliot, the agent of
the Holland Land Company, in relation to the
character of the mountain ridge, and on the belief
that on the northern face of that elevation a con-
tinuous level existed throughout the whole length
of Lake Ontario. We shall see that this inference
was very far from being correct. The plan was a
most brilliant conception of genius, but was im-

DEWITT CLINTON. 157

practicable in consequence of the existence of an
unknown but absolutely insuperable obstacle. The
quantity of information which is collected in these
essays is remarkable, and is even now of great
value, both as respects the direct object in view,
and the experience of foreign countries. There
can indeed be no better proof of the importance
of an established reputation in giving currency to
a work, than the fact that these essays, so replete
with learning and indicative of a high order of
genius, should have produced no sensation.

In 1809, Mr. Thomas Eddy, on behalf of the
Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, pro-
ceeded to Albany for the purpose of procuring the
passage of a law authorizing the appointment of
commissioners to explore a route for a canal from
Oneida Lake to Seneca River, with a view to the
execution of the canal by that company. At that
moment Judge Piatt was the acknowledged leader
of the federal party in the Senate, and its nomina-
ted candidate for the office of governor. To him
Eddy, who was his political adherent, applied for
his influence in obtaining the passage of the pro-
posed law.

Judge Piatt, who had long been a resident of
the western part of the state, and knew, perhaps,
better than any other person, its wants and wishes ;
who had, as it appears, long considered the policy

which the state ought to pursue in the premises,

O

158 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

replied at once, " That the company had disap-
pointed public expectation, and that it would be
inauspicious to present any project which should
be subject to that corporation." As a substitute,
he proposed a plan for instituting a board of com-
missioners to examine and survey the whole route
from the Hudson to Lake Ontario, and to Lake
Erie also. Mr. Eddy having been satisfied that
this plan was to be preferred, it was agreed, on
the suggestion of Judge Piatt, to call Clinton
forthwith into their councils. He, as we have
seen, held at that moment a preponderating in-
fluence with the democratic party ; and, as the ob-
ject involved no party views, not only Eddy, but
Piatt also, was satisfied of the propriety of obtain-
ing his sanction.

It is one of those things which augur best for
the permanence of our institutions, that, however
imbittered may have been the disputes of mere
party politics, however loudly the underlings and
hack writers of factions may have declaimed
against the motives and characters of their adver-
saries, no sooner does danger threaten the coun-
try, or is a scheme of real advantage presented,
than the leaders of the opposing parties resort to
each other as the most likely supporters of the
necessary measures. Here was an occasion in
which an astute politician might have seen an
easy opportunity of winning popularity and ac-

DEWITT CLINTON. 159

cumulating electioneering capital ; yet Piatt sought
Clinton as the first person to whom his scheme was
to be imparted. On the other hand, Clinton could
not have been insensible to the fact that the
scheme was one on which it could be easy, as
was afterward done, to shower down the most
pointed ridicule, and to convert its proposal by
Piatt into an engine of political warfare. These
distinguished men, however, forgot all except its
bearing on the prosperity of their country, and dis-
cussed the plan only in its relations to the public
welfare. The result of the interview was, that
Piatt forthwith presented in the Senate a resolu-
tion for the appointment of commissioners, and
the resolution was seconded by Clinton. By the
aid of their joint efforts, the resolution passed both
houses; and Gouverneur Morris, Dewitt Clinton,
Stephen Van Rensselaer, Simeon Dewitt, Peter B.
Porter, William North, and Thomas Eddy, were
named commissioners. Care was taken to take
the names alternately from the two opposing par-
ties; while Eddy himself, who closed the list, al-
though a federalist, was not an active partisan.

Morris w^as named by Judge Piatt in conse-
quence of the high standing which he held in his
party. Distinguished by his descent from a family
possessed of manorial privileges, and the heir of
an ample fortune, he had, at an early age, thrown
himself, with all the ardour of youth and the en-

160 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

thusiasm of genius, into the cause of the Revolution,
and, abandoning his home, had become domiciha-
ted in Pennsylvania. This state he had repre-
sented in Congress under the confederation, and
had been associated with Robert Morris in the
schemes of finance by which the Revolutionary
war was brought to a happy issue. In the con-
vention which framed the existing Constitution he
had filled a useful place ; and, on its adoption, had
been nominated by Washington ambassador to
France. Here he replaced Jefferson, who was re-
called to fill the high post of Secretary of State.
While in France, Morris became disgusted with
the excesses of the popular party, and disappoint-
ed their hopes of gaining the countenance of the
representative of the republic whose successful re-
sistance to royal power they for a time held up as
a model. When that party acquired the ascend-
ancy, his unpopularity with it was such as to ren-
der it expedient that he should be recalled.

On his return he retired to his paternal estate,
and rebuilt the mansion of his ancestors ruined by
the British troops. From this retirement he was
speedily called to represent his native state in the
Senate of the United States, where we have seen
him at the same time the colleague and the oppo-
nent of Clinton.

Morris was endued by nature \^dth all the at-
tributes necessary to the accomplished orator ; a

L

DEWITT CLINTON. 161

fine and commanding person, a most graceful de-
meanour, which was rather heightened than im-
paired by the loss of one of his legs ; a voice of
much compass, strength, and richness. These
natural advantages he had carefully cultivated;
grounded in classical literature in a manner far
beyond what was then usual in America, he had
continued to peruse the orators and poets of an-
tiquity ; familiar with more than one living lan-
guage, he was acquainted with all the best pro-
ductions of modern literature.

For style as literary productions, and still more
for the manner of their delivery, his speeches
would have held no mean rank among the pro-
ductions he studied as models. He thus acquired
an influence among persons who were his equals
in all but the external graces and embellishments
of oratory, which at the present moment appears
extraordinary; and with a self-confidence which
never deserted him, often arrogated to himself a
higher place than they, when out of the sphere of
his fascination, would have been willing to assign
him.

But, while thus qualified by natural gifts and
careful study to acquire an influence, he wanted
all the sound knowledge which was necessary in
the office to which he w^as now appointed. With
a feeling not unusual in classical scholars, he
looked with contempt on the sciences, which

02

162 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

were then beginning to be brought into the ser-
vice of industry, and which have since produced
such astonishing revolutions in the state of the
civihzed world. If, then, of all men living, he
was the best qualified to exhibit in a popular light
the advantages with which the adoption of a sys-
tem of internal improvements would be attended,
he was, perhaps, among all who could have been
selected, the worst for the purpose of entering into
the painful and laborious investigations on which
alone a true exposition of these advantages could
be founded, and on which the actual practicability
of a canal from Albany to Lake Erie would prin-
cipally rest.

Morris had directed his thoughts at an early
period to the navigable communications of the
State of New- York 5 and evidence is extant that,
even before the close of the Revolutionary war,
he had declaimed with his accustomed eloquence
upon the capabilities which existed for the exten-
sion of its internal trade. In the year 1801 he
had visited Niagara. His route was by the way
of Oswego to Lake Ontario, and along that lake
to the Niagara River.

The vivid impressions of the scenery, soil, and
climate which he received on this journey, are
delineated in a letter which he wrote on his re-
turn to his friend David Parish, of Hamburgh ;
and in obvious reference to the route which he

DEWITT CLINTON. 163

had traversed, points out the possibihty of ma-
king a communication for the passage of ships
from the upper lakes to the Hudson.

This letter is a finished piece of eloquence,
wanting, in truth, only metrical form to be classed
as a fine specimen of descriptive poetry. It has
been more than once pubhshed, for the purpose of
proving him to have been the original projector of
the substitution of a canal for the communication
by Lake Ontario. But, although the mere words
of the passage which speaks of this navigation
might be susceptible of such an interpretation, it is
very clear from the context that he entertained no
such idea.

The idea of ships sailing from the great West-
ern inland seas to the Hudson is in keeping with
the lockage of the Falls of Niagara, and the im-
provement of the navigation of the Oswego and
Mohawk Rivers, but it is utterly at variance with
the idea of a continuous canal.

Having already given utterance to a prediction
that vessels would descend from the upper lakes
to the Hudson, it will not surprise us to find Mor-
ris entering into the execution of the duties of his
office of canal commissioner with a zeal that dis-
tanced the more cautious movements of his less
excitable colleagues.

We cannot, however, but consider that the en-
terprise was not furthered by the appointment of

164 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Morris, and that the pubHc mind would have been
more easily satisfied of the feasibility of the project
of the canal, had Judge Piatt permitted himself
to be named on the commission instead of Morris.
With his sound and steady judgment, it would
have been impossible that any plan bearing im-
practicability on its face should have been laid
before the public. Piatt, however, seems to have
shrunk with innate modesty from assuming the first
place on a commission established by a resolution
drawn by himself. Here, therefore, all direct
agency on his part in the canal policy of the state
seems to have ceased ; yet he is well entitled to
the merit of having made the first efficacious step
towards the attainment of the great object of uni-
ting the lakes with the Atlantic.

The remaining members of the commission are
well and advantageously known to the world. In
particular, Stephen Van Rensselaer ought to be
cited, for the long, steady attention w^hich he de-
voted to the furtherance of internal improvements.
From this time to the day of his death he was
strenuous in the promotion of the cause, and held,
from the date v/hen the actual construction of the
canals w^as commenced, the office of a commission-
er. The last person who inherited an entailed es-
tate before the system was swept away by the Rev-
olution, he was for many years the sole surviver of
the ancient aristocracy ; yet such was the affabil-

DEWITT CLINTON. 165

ity of his manners and the benevolence of his dis-
position, that he enjoyed deserved popularity with
those most democratic in their principles. Possess-
ed of an estate which had descended to him from
the first projector of a settlement for any purpose
but trade on the banks of the Hudson, he exerci-
sed his povv^ers as landlord with such moderation
as to secure the devoted attachment of his ten-
antry.

In the cause of internal improvement he not
only aided by his services as canal commissioner,
but lent his powerful name and embarked funds
in the earliest project of a railroad, the first link
of that chain which, running parallel to the Erie
Canal, will, by facilitating personal communica-
tion, enhance its benefits.

Simeon Dewitt had served with distinction as
an engineer during the war of the ?.evolution, at
a time when the learning required in that branch
of the service was extremely rare. He held, from
the close of the Revolution to the time of his death,
the ofhce of surveyor-general to the state, and un-
der his direction, among other important duties,
the great survey of the military townships was ac-
complished ; a work which, from its extreme accu-
racy, has prevented all disputes about boundaries
among the landholders of that region.

Eddy has been already mentioned as a director
of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company,

166 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

and was, at the moment, looked to as the practical
man of the commission, in which respect the ap-
pointment was certainly his due.

Peter B. Porter had distinguished himself by a
very able speech, delivered in the House of Repre-
sentatives, in support of a resolution introduced by
himself, directing an inquiry into the propriety of
appropriating the proceeds of a part of the public
lands to purposes of internal improvement. A
resident of the extreme western portion of the
state, he had collected a vast amount of valuable
information ; and, although he finally differed from
his colleagues in relation to the comparative merits
of the Ontario and Erie routes, his aid was not un-
important in the early stages of the inquiry.

General North had served with great reputation
in the Revolutionary war, and by his talents, his
landed property, and the remembrances of his mil-
itary actions, was deservedly possessed of great in-
fluence, both politically and morally.

Of such materials was the commission formed,
and the results of its operations justified the Le-^
gislature in the wisdom of its selections.

DEWITT CLINTON. 167

CHAPTER XIII.

The Canal Commissioners undertake to examine
the Route. — Clinton and others proceed by Wa-
ter from Schenectady.- — Their Progress to Ge-
neva, after a Deviation to Oswego. — Journey by
Land to JYiagara, and return to Albany by the
way of Ithaca. — Meetings of the Commission-
ers at Utica arid Chippeway. — Diversity of
Opinion in the Board. — Opinion of Morris* —
Clinton's Views prevail in the Board. — Report
drawn up by Mr. Morris. — Examination of its
Features and Consequences.

The commissioners appointed under the resolu-
tion of Judge Piatt entered forthwith on the duties
of their office. Surveys were directed to be made,
under the superintendence of Simeon Dewitt, the
surveyor-general of the state, who was a member
of the board ; and the commissioners resolved to
proceed personally to examine the country. In
most cases this is an empty ceremony. The best
qualified and most practised engineers can decide
little by the eye alone ; and those who have not
the habit of judging of levels and distances will
be wholly at fault. The plans of public improve-
ments must therefore be decided upon in the cabi-

168 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

net by reference to accurate profiles and maps, and
not in the field. In the present instance, a formal
progress of the commissioners through the region
to be examined was of vital importance. It was
necessary to arouse the attention of the people to
the importance of the object, and excite a curiosi-
ty which should lead to the study of the benefits
likely to flow from the completion of the project.

The expediency of such a progress having been
decided, the month^of July (1810) was appointed
for the purpose ; and it was agreed that Morris and
Van Rensselaer should proceed by land, while
Clinton, with the rest of the commissioners and a
corps of surveyors, should take the Mohawk at
Shenectady, and follow the existing lines of com-
munication as far as practicable.

The survey of the most important part of th6
route was intrusted to Judge Geddes, who had al-
ready explored a part of it.

Clinton and Eddy left New-York on the 30th
of June in the steamboat for Albany. This voy-
age occupied, as was usual in that early period of
steam navigation, upv/ard of thirty hours. The
2d of July was occupied in a meeting of the board,
and laying in stores and equipage for the voyage ;
the 3d in reaching Schenectady, and it was not
until the afternoon of the 4th that the party em-
barked. Two boats were provided for their ac-
commodation, one of which was occupied by the

DEWITT CLINTON. 169

commissioners, the other by servants and baggage.
Of the latter there was about a ton and a half, as
it was necessary to carry almost every article of
ordinary comfort. The party suftered from having
trusted to the sleeping quarters Avhich were pre-
sented on the route, and would have experienced
less fatigue had it been provided in addition with
tents. The boats were of the burden of about
ten tons, w^ere provided with sails to use when the
wind was fair, and were propelled on other occa-
sions by setting poles. In using these, the men
walked along a gangway formed for the purpose
on the gunwale, and pressed against the poles
with their shoulders. The boats were without
decks, but were sheltered by an awning and cur-
tains. The party within had sufficient space to sit
and read or write, but there was not room to spread
their beds.

The river was low, and, although the boats were
light, the passage of several of the rapids v/as at-
tended w^ith difficulty. Utica, therefore, was not
reached until late on the evening of the fifth day.

The parties of Morris and Van Rensselaer occu-
pied the whole of the principal hotel in Utica, and
the voyagers took their lodging at another. At
the present day the same hotel has been enlarged
until it can conveniently lodge several hundred
guests, and there are three or fom- others of almost
equal extent. In 1810, the regular public com-

P

170 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

munication between Albany and Utica was by a
single daily stage, which was thirty-six hours in
performing the journey. From Utica to Geneva
the stage ran only three times a week, wliile be-
yond that point none had been established.

The freight of goods by the river to Schenecta-
dy was seventy-five cents per ton, the carriage by
wagon a dollar per ton.

Utica at that time contained 300 houses, inhab-
ited by 1650 persons.

A meeting of the board was held on the 10th
July at Utica, which adjourned to reassemble at
Rome on the 12th.

At Utica, General North and Judge Geddes
joined the party in the boats, and, leaving Utica on
the 11th, the commissioners reached Rome the
same day. Here the proposed meeting was held,
and an incident occurred in the discussion which
we shall refer to on a future occasion.

At Rome the routes by land and water separa-
ted, and the next place of meeting was fixed for
Geneva. The party in the boats passing the cut
at Fort Stanwix, entered and descended Wood
Creek, traversed the Oneida Lake, and, running
down its rapid outlet, reached Three River Point
before sundown on the 15th July. Thence they
followed the stream to Oswego, which they reach-
ed the next evening.

A day was spent in examining the neighbour-

DEWITT CLINTON. 171

hood of Oswego, and on the morning of the 18th
the commissioners proceeded on foot up the bank
of the river for five miles, in order to facihtate
the passage of the boats up the rapids. Re-em-
barking, Three River Point v>^as reached at two
o'clock on the 19th, and the Seneca River enter-
ed. This was found to be a dead and sluggish
stream until its confluence with the Cayuga out-
let was passed, whence there was a rise of fifty
feet into the Seneca Lake. Geneva was not
reached until the afternoon of the 24th, and at the
close of the twentieth day after leaving Schenec-
tady. Deducting the three days spent in the de-
viation to Oswego, seventeen days were spent in
the voyage, which, as it was performed in light
vessels, may be considered as giving less than the
average time of passing over this distance by the
existing water communications. The same dis-
tance was performed by the packet-boats on the
canal in thirty-six hours, and by the lighter class
of freight-boats it is passed over in about fifty
hours. The latter carry with ease from forty to
fifty tons, while the capacity of some of the heavy
boats, even before the enlargement of the canal
was commenced, reached nearly to a hundred tons.
This voyage has been dwelt upon at some
length, because it affords a standard of compari-
son whereby the great advantages derived froip

172 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the Erie Canal, in the facihty and cheapness of
transportation, may be conveniently illustrated.

It is unnecessary to enter into the- detail of the
remainder of the journey. Clinton, with his par-
ty, proceeded to the Niagara River, which they
crossed to Newark in Canada, visited the falls,
and returned by the ridge road, then newly cut
through the woods. On returning to Geneva, a
deviation from the direct route was made to Itha-
ca, at the head of Lake Cayuga, whence the state
road was joined at Auburn. Finally, on the 19th
August, Schenectady was reached, and, after a de-
lay of a day in Albafiy, Chnton returned by the
steamboat to New-York.

The feasibility of a canal to Lake Erie, in a
direct course, was necessarily a subject of discuss-
ion at the several meetings of the board to which
we have alluded. The relative advantages of the
direct route, and that by the way of Lake On-
tario, were also canvassed. Clinton appears to
have avoided any positive expression of his
views until the meeting at Chippeway, when he
had, by personal information and examination of
the surveys of Judge Geddes, satisfied himself that
a canal of the ordinary character was practica-
ble from the Hudson to Lake Erie. The practica-
bility of the other route had long been obvious.
It therefore became a question merely of policy,
which ought to be adopted. On this head his

DEWITT CLINTON.

173

decision had been made up at an early stage of
the investigation. He saw, upon the proposed Hne
from Rome to Buffalo, a country capable, by its
fertility, of supporting the proposed canal; he
weighed the difficulties and expense attending
transshipment from vessels calculated to navigate
the lakes to canal-boats ; and, more than all, he
dreaded that the trade of the West might be di-
verted to the St. Lawrence, and its growing pop-
ulation compelled to form connexions in business
with the British colonies.

Morris, of more sanguine temperament, had come
at a much earlier period to similar conclusions, and
had made up his mind that all material obstacles
must give way to the Erie route. He adopted in
its full extent, and without waiting for the result
of the surveys, the brilliant but crude conception
of Hawley. This plan he urged with all his elo-
quence on his colleagues at their meeting in Uti-
ca. The occurrence is thus stated in the journal
of his tour kept by Clinton.

" At this meeting, the senior commissioner talk-
ed wildly. He was for breaking down the mound
of Lake Erie, and letting out the waters to follow
the level of the country, so as to form a sloop
navigation with the Hudson, and without any aid
from any other water."

However correct, then, were Morris's views of
the pohcy of the direct route to Lake Erie, it is

P2

174 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

evident that he had formed no practical idea of the
mode in which it might be accomphshed, nor did
he at any subsequent period reduce his soaring-
imagination to the level of common sense.

To the policy of the direct route to Lake Erie
all the commissioners save one assented, and at
the final meeting at Chippeway Clinton was com-
pelled to combat on the one hand the magnifi-
cent but impracticable project of Morris, and on
the other the plausible and popular plan of ad-
hering as closely as possible to the natural course
of the waters. The expense of constructing a ca-
nal from Albany to Oswego, and another around
the Falls of Niagara, would have been much less
than that of a direct canal to Lake Erie, and
would therefore have been more certainly within
reach of the resources of the state ; and had the
sole object of the navigation been that of forming
a communication mth the shores of the upper
lakes, the argument would have been unansw^era-
ble.

Had this opinion prevailed, the consequences
would have been disastrous to the State of New-
York ; the current of population which has been
borne on the waters of the canal to every point
within its reach, and which has made the region
west of Rome the richest agricultural district in
the Union, would have flowed onward to Lake
Erie, and even more distant regions, to which the

DEWITT CLINTON. 175

Ontario route would have given a more ready ac-
cess.

On the other hand, had the scheme of Morris
been the only one submitted to the public, its ut-
ter want of practicability vv^ould have defeated the
chance of any farther action. At this point, then,
do the paramount services of Clinton in the ca-
nal policy of the state commence. Up to this mo-
ment he had been an efficient and ardent friend of
a system of internal improvement, but had waited
for personal inspection to satisfy himself of its
practicability and importance. He from this mo-
ment took the lead in all the measures which were
necessary for its accomplishment.

Clinton's views were sanctioned by the majority
of his colleagues, but he saw the importance of se-
curing a unanimous report. It was believed by
some of the commissioners that Morris had been
convinced by the arguments of Clinton ; at all
events, the subject had been fully discussed in his
presence. By courtesy, Morris, as senior commis-
sioner, was entitled to the right of drawing the
report of the board, unless a difference of opinion
had arisen of sufficient moment to have justified
his colleagues in intrusting that duty to another.
Had this been done, three adverse reports would
in all probability have been presented, and the
popular arguments in favour of the Ontario and
Niagara route would have been brought forward.

176 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

By leaving Morris in possession of his prescriptive
right, this danger would be avoided ; and it was
believed that any objection which might be raised
to Morris's individual views would be obviated
by the exhibition of the surveys and practical con-'
elusions of Judge Geddes,

The report of the board was, in consequence,
drawn by Morris, and well sustained his veteran
reputation for ability as a writer, and for enlarged
views as a statesman. It established the practi-
cability of an inland canal, and illustrated its ad-
vantages in a masterly manner. But it also in-
cluded the idea of creatino; an artificial river from
the elevation of Lake Erie to the Hudson, and a
digression into a long exposition of the facilities
and advantages of an inclined plane canal, in
which rivers and lakes were to be passed by
aqueducts, and valleys by mounds. This plan,
w^hich, in the hands of Hawley, who argued from
imperfect knowledge of the country, and from a
general view of its qualifications, was a brilliant
conception, became ridiculous when contrasted
with the actual levels. From these it appeared
that, besides minor obstacles, the wide and deep
chasm of the Cayuga Lake fell so far below the
Jevel of a uniform slope, that it would require to
be passed by a mound and aqueduct, wdiich, if
not impossible in the nature of things, was ren-
dered so by the enormous expenditure it must
have occasioned.

DEWITT CLINTON.

177

On the meeting of the commissioners to consider
the report, these objections were apparent. Mo-
tives of deUcacy, and the personal respect they all
bore to Morris, prevented any proposition being
made for striking out this portion of it. Some of
the com-missioners were, in fact, inclined to leave
it to be signed by Morris as senior commissioner,
and thus avoid affixing their names to it Clin-
ton, however, urged the importance of the appear-
ance of unanimity, and pointed out the fact that,
while Morris had not refrained from expressing
his own opinions, he had, at the same time, avoid-
ed committing his colleagues as sanctioning them,
and had fairly declared that there was room for
difference of opinion. He had also referred to the
surveys, whence the true state of the case might
be at once inferred by all who should with intel-
ligence examine the subject.

" In respect to the inland navigation," says the
report, " from the lakes to the Hudson River, the
commissioners beg leave to refer for information to
the annexed reports and maps of Mr. James Ged-
des, employed at their request by the surveyor-
general. From these it is evident that such navi-
gation is practicable. Whether the rmde here
sketched out will hereafter be pursued, whether a
better way may not be found, and other questions
subordinate to these, can only be resolved at a fu-
Uire time, when an intelligent man, regularly bred

178

AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

to this business, shall, under the direction of those
on whom the pubhc may think proper to devote
this superintendence, have made a more exact and
careful scrutiny than the time and means of the
commissioners would permit."

As a farther concession to the opinions of his
colleagues, the report says, '^ Preliminary points
are to be adjusted, and of these the first is,
Wliether it is to be made for sloops or barges.
The expense of the former will, it is believed, be
at least double that of the latter. Another ques-
tion. Whether it shall be carried along an inclined
plane, or by a line ascending and descending, must
be directed by a comparison of the expense and
of the utility each way.'^

If Morris, therefore, had taken advantage of his
position as canal commissioner to place his indi-
vidual opinions in a prominent light, he had made
no unfair use of his seniority in suppressing those
of his colleagues. They, on the other hand, were
justified in trusting that the pubhc would not ac-
cept or reject a scheme of so much importance
without a close and deliberate examination -, and
Clinton was a behever in the final triumph of good
sense in all questions fairly submitted to the people.
Clinton was justified in the course he took on
this occasion by the result. The report excited a
prodigious sensation. There were some who were
qualified to judge, and who, aware of the practica-

DEWITT CLINTON. 179

bility of a canal to Lake Erie upon ordinary prin-
ciples, regretted that the project of the inchned
plane had ever been broached. These received
the report with a feeling of disappointment. It
did not alter their well-founded belief, but it caus-
ed them to fear that a scheme practicable in itself
might be defeated by the ridicule which they saw
must be cast upon the stupendous project of Mor-
ris. Those who were also quahlied to judge of
the plan, but were as yet unacquainted with the
circumstances, were not seduced by the eloquence
of Morris from an examination of the documents
appended to the report ; and, on mature delibera-
tion, became satisfied that a plan of less imposing
magnificence w^as feasible.

At that time, however, the state numbered but
few who possessed the knowledge which would
have enabled them to examine such a question
with intelligence. The multitude was therefore
divided into two great parties ; the one was car-
ried away by the eloquence of Morris, and saw in
the splendour of the enterprise he proposed, not
only a source of wealth to the state, but of hon-
our in the execution of a work more grand in con-
ception than Babylonian majesty had dreamed of,
or Roman energy had accomplished ; the other
revolted at the scheme, as one far in advance of
the time, and likely to be ruinous by loading the
state with an inextinguishable debt. The report

180 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

thus afforded ample room for discussion ; and wheu^
by an exhibition of a plan founded on sound prin-
ciples, all the objections which had been raised
against that of Morris had been obviated, it was
too late to have recourse to new arguments against
it ; and many of those w^ho on the first view had
opposed the canal, became converts to its practica-
bihty and utility when they saw that the arguments
which had been used against it had ceased to be
applicable.

This first report, then, had the merit, from its
very extravagance, of exciting the public atten-
tion in a degree far gi'eater than could a paper
containing no more than an accurate exposition of
the facts ascertained by the commissioners, and the
proposal of a plan founded on the experience of
other countries. Morris therefore rendered an es-
sential service to the cause of internal improve-
ments, not merely by his honest but mistaken zeal
in its behalf, but by provoking discussions which
a man of less genius but of more practical talent
would have avoided.

The report was presented to the Legislature in
due course ; and on its reception, Clinton, who
now prepared to take the lead in all measures cal-
culated to further this great scheme of internal im-
provement, brought a bill into the Senate for the
purpose of continuing the investigations, and pre-
paring for the execution of the project. By this

DEWITT CLINTON. 181

bill, which became a law, the same commissioners
were continued, and the members of the board in-
creased by the addition of Robert Fulton and
Robert L. Livingston. Fifteen thousand dollars
were appropriated for farther surveys; and the
commissioners were authorized to apply to the
general government, or to those of any of the in-
dividual states, for assistance in the accomplish-
ment of the canal.

In compliance with this law, full and complete
surveys were made under the direction of the com-
missioners, and a report was made in 1812 to the
Legislature ; in this the inclined plane was formal-
ly abandoned, and a plan presented identical in
its great features with that which was actually ex-
ecuted. The intervention of the war at this epoch
put an end to all active proceedings, and the ac-
tion of the Legislature on this report will fall
with more propriety into a subsequent portion of
this memoir.

Q

182 AMERICAN BIOGRAP HY^

CHAPTER XIV.

OHgin and Growth of the Democratic Party.--
Its Triumph in the Election of Jefferson,—
George Clinton chosen Vice^resident in the
place of Burr.— His Pretensions to he the Suc-
cessor of Jefferson.— He is Passed over.— Jeal-
ousy of Virginia.— All Aid to the Mw-York
Canals is refused.— Deivitt Clinton is named'
as a Candidate for the Presidency.— Examina-
tion of his Course in relation to the War.

The party which assumed to itself the exclusive
title of democratic was made up of many hetero-
geneous materials. It had been organized, in the
first instance, as an opposition to the administration
of Washington, on the questions of the proclama-
tion of neutrality and the ratification of Jay's
treaty. This opposition was gladly joined by the
remnant of the anti-federahsts, and by many of
the more warm federalists, who had been disap-
pointed in obtaining office under the new govern-
ment. The cabinet of Washington had been it-
self divided on these questions, and thus the secre-
tary of state became the most prominent man of
the new party. Even among the anti-federalists
the shades of opinion were various in the extreme,

t) E W I T T CLINTON. 183

from those who would have been content with a
federation possessing even less than the limited
powers to which the old Congress had restricted it-
self, to those who desired a strong and firm central
government, but preferred that its popular branches
should possess a greater degree of authority, and
the power of the executive be more limited than
had been done by the Constitution. The two most
opposite opinions were thus united in opposition on
a single point, that which held the exclusive au-
thority of the state sovereignties, and that which
was for deriving all power without intervention
from the people. The party therefore strengthen-
ed itself to the South among the rich and power-
ful planters, who possessed a local influence which
the action of the general government diminished ;
w^hile it numbered to the North the hardy yeoman-
ry, who retained the revolutionary feeling which
had led to the breaking up of entails and the ab-
rogation of manorial privileges. Propagating in
the latter case the doctrine of the largest liberty,
the party was joined by all the foreigners who
had fled from the oppression of their native gov-
ernments. The natives of England and Scot-
land, on the other hand, who sought to become
.citizens of the United States for the purposes of
commerce, were ranged in the federal party.

The question of a national bank produced a
new point of difference between those who admit-

J84 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ted that the Constitution gave every power inci-
dent or collateral to those actually granted in
terms, and those who adhered to the mere letter of
the instrument.

So long as Washington retained the office of
president, his transcendent greatness of character,
and the strong hold he held on the affections of
his countrymen, prevented the rising party from
taking the form of a steady and uniform opposi-
tion. He had himself the faculty of training to
his service talent of every variety, and making the
most discordant opinions work together for the
promotion of the general welfare. Jefferson and
Hamilton, the imbodied personifications of the
two most opposite opinions, were both retained in
his cabinet, and were both efficient in bringing to
a successful result the difficult experiment of a
form of government without example, as it has
hitherto been without parallel.

The determination of Washington to retire from
a station that he might have held so long as it
pleased him, was the signal for the organization
of the two opposing parties. Adams, the Vice-
President, became the candidate of the one, and
Jefferson of the other. A new element of divis-
ion was thus introduced, for sectional feelings
were enlisted in the disputes, and attempts were
mutually made to array the North against the
South. Adams was elected in preference to his

DEWITT CLINTON. 185

competitor; and, had he possessed either popular
arts or clear-sighted views, might have secured
the constant triumph of the party which had sup-
ported him. In the former, however, he was de-
ficient, and his want of popularity was aggravated
by two injudicious acts, by which the liberty of
the press was menaced, and the right of personal
liberty invaded. The alien and sedition laws, of
v/hich he was, in popular opinion, the instigator,
furnished his opponents with a well-founded means
of attack. He still had one chance of retaining
his power. The aggressions of Great Britain on
our commerce had been almost put an end to
by the operations of Jay's treaty, while those of
France were not only continued, but were aggra-
vated by a feeling growing out of that very trea-
ty. Hence a good and just cause of war against
that nation arose, and hostilities were actually
commenced by a law authorizing the capture and
detention of French cruisers and privateers. To
carry on these hostilities a navy was created, and,
for less obvious reasons, an army was imbodied.

A universal burst of popular feeling hailed the
war wdth France, and the leaders of the opposition
were thus left without the means of attacking the
administration with success. The strong feeling of
national pride was about to be awakened, and this,
as in 1813, would probably have swept away
every landmark of part}'.

Q2

186 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

It appears probable that the great preparations
of the administration of Adams had other views
than mere defensive operations. The strengthen-
ing of the navy was well calculated to place the
United States in an imposing attitude in respect to
Great Britain, as well as to clear the seas of the
picaroons bearing the French flag. But the well-
organized and admirably-equipped army, of which
Hamilton was in the actual, although Washington
held the nominal command, was not called for by
any fear of invasion from France, and the course
of events appeared to be throwing the United
States into an alliance with Great Britain,

It may therefore appear far from improbable
that a great scheme of conquest and national agv
grandizement had been planned in the secret coun-^
cils of the federal party. Cuba was the recepta-
cle of the bucaneers who preyed upon the neutral
commerce of America, and, from the alliance of
Spain with France, must have become the centre
of any hostile action on the part of the former.
It was, of course, obvious that, when the hostilities
against France should become a formal war, Spain
would in fact, if not by absolute declaration, be-
come a party to it. It is therefore not an unlikely
surmise that the army of 1798 was intended to
act against the Spanish colonies of Louisiana and
Florida, nay, perhaps with the aid and concurrence
of Great Britain, against Cuba, or Mexico itself.

DEWITT CLINTON. 187

The obvious tendency of the acts of the admin-
istration of Adams, whether so intended or not, to
bring the United States into the coahtion against
revolutionary France, furnished the opposition with
a bond of union. By this it was kept together, in
spite of the heterogeneous character of the materi-
als of which we have seen it to be originally made;
and the habit of acting in concert under a steady
discipline, either fused all the various opinions into
one common mass, or silenced the expression of
such as were not avowed by the papers which be-
came the organs of the party. In the faith thus
publicly expressed the younger portion of the
community was educated; and what may have at
first been no more than an assumption of principles
calculated for political effect, became the sincere
belief of at least half of the youth of the United
States.

Whatever may have been the intentions of the
party with which he acted, Adams did not carry
out even the first steps of the plan. Instead of
exciting the hostile feeling against France to the
height of a war in all its forms, he sought and ef-
fected a reconciliation with that country. By this
the numerous active spirits who had sought occu-
pation in arms, or had enrolled themselves as vol-
unteers, were disgusted, and many of them were
speedily classed in the ranks of his opponents.
His own party was distracted, and yielded him

188 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

only a feeble support, or sought to abandon him
for some more acceptable candidate. In the
mean time, his administration did not adapt its
measures to the new state of things ; the army
was not disbanded ; measures for the increase of
the navy were persisted in ; and the taxes impo-
sed in view of a war were not taken off. His
adroit adversaries seized these points of his policy
as open to attack, and in the outcry raised against
a naval force, a standing army, and taxes in time
of peace, found the most efficient weapons for
overthrowing his power.

In this they were so successful that they ven-
tured on running two candidates for the presiden-
cy, in order to secure both that office and the place
of vice-president to members of their party. This
was rendered necessary by an existing provision
of the Constitution, which has since been repealed,
by which the office of vice-president fell to the
candidate for the presidency who should receive
the second number of votes.

The result of this bold measure in the election
of Jefferson as President, and Burr as Vice-Presi-
dent, and the suspicion of an attempted collusion
with their federal opponents, to which the latter
was exposed, are familiar facts.

In this struggle and final triumph the elder
Clinton bore an important part, and Dewitt Clin-
ton figured towards its close as an efficient agent.

DEWITT CLINTON. 189

They had, as we have seen, been among the mod-
erate opponents to the federal constitution, on the
ground of state rights ; and although George Clin-
ton had finally acquiesced in the vote of the state
convention, he had been immediately assailed by
an opposition to his re-election as governor. Thus
driven into opposition, he had become the decided
supporter of Jefferson, and had aided most power-
fully in securing him the vote of New-York. In
the intrigues by which Burr was so near taking
the first instead of the second rank, the friends of
the Clintons were the undeviating supporters of
Jefferson.

We have seen the prominent part which Dewitt
Clinton took in the Senate of the United States in
support of the administration of Jefferson. His
seat in that body was held for a short time, and
with this short exception, he, with his uncle,
whose re-election as governor accompanied the
triumph of the democratic party, were fully occu-
pied by their executive duties and the party strug-
gles of their own state. On the re-election of
Jefferson, George Clinton became vice-president,
and a wider field of politics was opened. From
former usage, he felt himself entitled to be consid-
ered as the person to be selected as the candi-
date of his party for the oflSce of president. On
the other hand, Virginia was unwilling to part
with the prescriptive claim to that office, and the

190 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

secretary of state seemed to be preferred by the
incumbent of the office ; mutual jealousies arose,
and the general administration manifested neutral-
ity in the schisms of the party in New-York, if not
actual preference for those who had been denoun-
ced by it.

With a just sense of duty to the country at large,
and his native state in particular, George Clin-
ton urged measures of preparation for defence, and
particularly the fortification of the harbour of New-
York. He also appears never to have been in fa-
vour of the entire disbandment of the army, or the
neglect of the navy. The embargo received his
warm support, not as a measure intended as a sub-
stitute for a war with England, but as one of di-
rect preparation; and we have on it on record that
he urged upon the president, after the adoption of
that measure, the equipment and manning of all
the vessels remaining in the navy. For this meas-
ure he urged the motives of assuming an imposing
attitude in aid of negotiation, of being prepared in
the event of a war, and of alleviating the distress
of the class of citizens on whom the pressure of
the embargo fell most severely.

In these views Dewitt Clinton concurred most
cordially with his uncle; and we have seen that
when the defence of the harbour of New- York
was neglected by the government, he was the

DEWITT CLINTON. 191

principal instrument in obtaining appropriations
from the state for the purpose.

When the distress produced by the embargo
became so serious as to threaten a loss of the ma-
jorities which the democratic party had hitherto
commanded, Dewitt Clinton presided at a meeting
in the Park, which pledged itself to the support of
the administration on that measure, which nothing
but the belief of its being a preparation for w^ar
could have rendered tolerable.

To the feeble and inefficient measures of non-
importation and non-intercourse which succeeded
the embargo, Clinton ^vas decidedly opposed. He
viewed them as imposing all the privations of a
war without any of its advantages, and urged the
adoption of a more energetic course.

When Jefferson, in pursuance of the example of
self-denial set by Washington, retired from the
presidential chair, the claims of George Clinton to
the succession w^ere passed over. His advanced
age was a sufficient reason for this ; but there were
not a few of the democratic party who would even
then have desired that Dewitt Clinton should have
been the candidate. At the caucus of members
of Congress by whom Madison was nominated as
the successor of Jefferson, ninety-four were pres-
ent. Of these only one was from New- York,
and the attendance from Virginia was not full.
The members from New-York who did not attend

192 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

were understood to prefer George Clinton, and the
absentees from Virginia to be in favour of Mon-
roe. In the decision of this caucus Clinton and
his friends acquiesced in silence ; but the jealousy
of the growing power of New-York, and particu-
larly of the rising talents and influence of Dewitt
Chnton, were powerfully excited in the breasts of
those who desired to perpetuate the ascendancy of
Virginia.

This state of mind in the immediate personal
adherents of the president became apparent to
Dewitt Chnton when he, in pursuance of the act
(' of the Legislature of 1811, visited Washington for
the purpose of soliciting aid for the prosecution of
the Mew-York canals. The doctrine that it was
not within the delegated powers of the general
government to grant such aid had not then been
invented; the neglect of all measures preparatory
to a war, or necessary for defence, had left the gov-
ernment in possession of ample funds, and thus, to
all appearance, there was nothing but sectional
jealousy which could prevent such aid bemg fur-
nished.

During the succeeding session of Congress, ac-
tive measures were taken for creating an army and
making provision for defence, or even for acting
hostilely against Great Britain. In these prepara-
tory measures Clinton concurred, and they were
supported in Congress by the votes of his imme-

DEWITT CLINTON. 193

diate friends and the exertion of all his influence.
When, however, in June, 18 12, the final question
of war or peace at that precise moment was enter-
tained, he appears to have been of the opinion
that, however just and necessary a war with Great
Britain were, the juncture was unfavourable, and
the country was not in a sufficient state of prepar-
ation. In these views he was countenanced by a
great number of the most uniform and consistent
members of the party; a number so great, that,
when added to the opposition members, it was be-
lieved, by the most adroit politicians, that a dec-
laration of war could hardly be carried in the
House of Representatives, and must certainly fail
in the Senate. The course of political manage-
ment by which an apparent minority was sudden-
ly and unexpectedly converted into a majority, is
still unexplained. With this majority the immedi-
ate friends of Clinton voted ; thus showing, what-
ever hesitation he may have felt in respect to the
policy of making war at the moment, a hesitation
which many believe was shared by the president
himself, that, when it was decided upon as the
measure of the party, he was willing to give it his
support.

The nomination by a caucus of members of
Congress had become odious to many. Hence,
when Madison's first term was about to expire, no
more than twelve persons from states east of New-

R

194 AMERfCAN BIOGRA*PHY.

Jersey attended the meeting. From this caucus
Madison received a nomination for a second term.
Those repubhcans who objected to the usage of a
caucus^ and refused to obey its commands, fixed
their eyes upon Clinton as an opponent to the
nominee of this meeting. Chnton was, in conse-
quence, put in nomination ; and, when the electo-
ral votes were counted, was found to have received
89, while Madison was elected by 128 votes.

In permitting himself to be used as a candidate,
Clinton exposed himself to great obloquy. Two
different parties were interested in misrepresenting
his views and opinions. The supporters of Madi-
son, on the one hand, were anxious that Clinton
should be represented as an opponent of the war,
believing that they would thus lessen his populari-
ty and diminish the vote for him as president.
The federal party, on the other hand, were willing
to consider him as opposed to the war, as by this
they might consistently vote for him, and obtain
an opportunity for distracting the ranks of their
ancient opponents. He was even strongly urged
to declare himself upon this point ; and, had he
given the least encouragement to a report that he
was the opponent of the war, he might have secu-
red the almost undivided support of the federal par-
t}'. This would probably have secured his election,
for that party was still strong and well organized-
Into the latter plan Chnton declined to enter ; and

DEWITT CLINTON. 195

thus, if he may have received the vote of a few
/ federalists, he derived no aid from them as a party,
' except in the Eastern states, where he was chosen
as the least of two evils. His decision on this
point left a feeling of animosity in the minds of
many distinguished opponents of the administra-
tion, which arrayed them ever after with what-
ever party sought the downfall of Clinton.

The nomination of Clinton was made by a con-
vention of the republican party of the State of
New-York. Many persons who were afterward
his most bitter opponents concurred in the call, and
gave their support to his nomination. The electo-
ral ticket which voted for him was headed by the
gentleman who was subsequently the successful
candidate of the party which opposed Clinton's
administration as governor.

This was the first attempt to put down the cau-
cus system, which has been followed by the very
method of conventions that was adopted by the
friends of Clinton ; and although he for a time
became the sacrifice of the new principle, it has,
notwithstanding, been triumphant, and is now uni-
versally admitted to be pre-eminently republican.

The main cause assigned by the convention for

\/ putting Clinton in nomination for the presidency

was, that hostilities might be conducted in a more

efficient manner. The early operations of the war

were attended with discomfiture 9nd disgrace ; and

196 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

it was most earnestly desired, by many sincere well-
wishers of their country, that a man of Clinton's
decision, capacity, and judgment should take the
place of what they considered a feeble and vacil-
lating administration. The truth is, however un-
popular may be the declaration of it, that a war,
commenced without preparation, was carried on
without a plan ; and the force which, if united,
might have penetrated to the walls of Quebec, was
engaged in partial and inconclusive conflicts over
a thousand miles of frontier.

So far from attempting to embarrass the govern-
ment in the prosecution of the war, Clinton was
the first official personage who came out publicly
to arouse his countrymen to that strenuous and
unanimous support of the cause of their country
by which alone the war could be brought to a
happy issue. An opportunity was afforded him
for this purpose in his charge to the grand jury of
the City and County of New-York, before a month
had elapsed from the date of the declaration of
w^ar. In this charge, after pointing out the new
relations in which the country had been placed, he
explains to the grand jury its duty in inquiring
into such acts as by these new relations had be-
come crimes.

It is therefore clear, that the charge of being
opposed to a war with Great Britain, which has
been so often urged against him, is devoid of

DEWITT CLINTON. 197

foundation. Even had he been one of its most
strenuous opponents at the beginning, he would
have stood in no worse Hght than others, who, how-
ever violent they had been in their resistance to a
declaration of war, were, notwithstanding, relieved
from all imputations of want of patriotism, in con-
sequence of the support which they afforded to the

government in carrying it on.

R2

198 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER XV.

Progress of the Canal Policy interrupted hy the
War. — Clinton tenders his Military Services to
Governor Tompkins. — His Report on the De-
fence of the City of JYew-YorJe. — Measures of
the Corporation, and of the State and General
Governments, in consequence. — Clinton is re-
moved from his Office of Mayor. — He renews
the Consideration of the Canal Questioji. —
Meeting on that Subject in JYew-York. — Clin-
ton draws the Memorial of that Meeting. — Ex-
amiiiation of the Contents, and Effects of that
Memorial.

The declaration of war put an end to all in!Wie-
diate chance of proceeding with the construction
of the New- York canals. The Legislature had
indeed, on the 19th of June, 1812, almost at the
instant that the war began, passed an act further
to provide for the improvement of the internal
navigation of this state. By this act the board of
commissioners were authorized to purchase the in-
terest of the Western Inland Lock Navigation
Company, and to borrow five millions of dollars
as a fund for making the canal. This act was
obtained by the exertion on the part of Clinton

DEWITT CLINTON, 199

of the same powerful influence he had hitherto
)3rought to bear in support of this great scheme.
His whole soul had indeed become devoted to the
object. It was, therefore, with no little regret
that he saw any chance of its even being com-
menced postponed indefinitely by the hostilities
with Great Britain ; and the strenuous support
which he afforded the government in all defensive
measures, derives enhanced merit from this circum-
stance.

He had, in fact, when he visited Washington to
solicit the aid of the general government to the ca-
nal, pledged his support and that of his friends to
the o-overnment in case of a war with Great Brit-
ain ; and this pledge he redeemed. On his return
he sought to regain his relative rank in the militia,
with a view of being in the way of active service.
His f^\vn view of his claims was limited to the
rank of brigadier ; but the council of appointment,
in consideration of his eminent standing in civil
life, conferred on him the commission of major-gen-
eral. As soon as it became necessary to call out
the militia, he applied, through the intervention of
Emmett, to Governor Tompkins for a command.
He was compelled to make use of the channel of
a mutual friend, as any familiar intercourse had
ceased between him and the governor. Tompkins
had been drawn from obscurity by the notice of
Chnton, and owed to him his appointment as a

200 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

judge, and his nomination as a candidate for gov-
ernor in opposition to General Lewis. He was
now opposed to Clinton on the presidential ques-
tion, and gave the whole weight of his official in-
fluence to Madison. Clinton, therefore, could not
avoid considering him as ungrateful. On the oth-
er hand, Tompkins affected to consider Clinton as
an opponent of the war. It therefore did not suit
him to bring Chnton forAvard in any active milita-
ry employment, and the application for a command
was rejected.

Clinton, however, was determined to be useful
to his country in the capacity w^hich he was still
permitted to retain, that of mayor of the City of
New-York. Feeling most sensibly the exposed
position of this important place, he drew up and
presented to the corporation a report on the meas-
ures necessary for its defence, and strong represen-
tations were in consequence made to the govern-
ment.

It appeared by this report that, so culpable had
been the inattention of the administration, while
that of England was sending out the army of Spain
and Portugal to our coast, no more than 1600 men
had been left for the defence of New- York. No
other mode of attack had been anticipated than
from shipping attempting to enter the Narrows.
The state had made provision for fortifying the
pass at Hellgate; but no preparation of any de-»

DEW ITT CLINTON. 201

scription had been made in case an army were to
be landed on Long Island or in West Chester.

The report, after pointing out the exposed po-
sition of the city, proposed that fortified camps
should be established at Brooklyn and Haerlem,
and a sufficient body of militia called out to gar-
rison them.

To attain these purposes, eight resolutions were
appended to the report. By the first, a committee
of the Common Council was directed to solicit the
attention of the president to these objects j by the
second, the governor of the state was requested,
under the authority of the militia law, to call out
a sufficient number of the militia to occupy the
proposed camps, and a loan of $300,000 tendered
him for the purpose. The other resolutions had
reference to munitions of war, and to the mode of
raising the money tendered.

The corporation at the time contained a major-
ity of the opponents of the government, and polit-
ical antagonists of Clinton. On this occasion, how-
ever, all party feeling was forgotten, and absolute
unanimity prevailed in its deliberations. The oc-
casion was seized by the politic Tompkins as a
mode of increasing his popularity. Up to this
time he had been busily engaged in pressing of-
fensive measures on the frontiers of Canada, with-
out being aware that the enemy saw that the
surest mode of defending their colony was by ag-

202 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

gressive acts on the coast of the United States.
He now did more than was asked of him, and
poured into the City of New-York mihtia contin-
gents to double the number that the committee
of the corporation had thought necessary. Of
this force he assumed the command, obtaining
from the general government its sanction. Clin-
ton, in the mean time — the real projector of the
measure, by which all risk of attack was avoided,
and which preserved the city from the fate of
Washington and Alexandria, or the panic experi-
enced at Baltimore — was studiously kept in the
background. The funds necessary for the pay
and support of this imposing force far exceeded
the amount furnished by the corporation. A se-
vere trial of its patriotism was therefore to be
made. The general government, which had sanc-
tioned the call of such a force, had provided no
means for the purpose of keeping it together. Its
credit, from mismanagement of its vast resources,
had fallen to so low an ebb, that its treasury notes
were almost worthless in the market. To call the ■
state legislature together would have been a tedious ^
process, during which the troops would have been
exposed to distress, or must have been disbanded, i
An opportunity was thus presented by which an •
adroit politician, without the semblance of improp-
er motives, might have left the governor to his own
resources, and thrown upon him the responsibility

DEWITT CLINTON. 203

of collecting, for his own purposes, a force he was
unable to pay or feed. Such, however, was not
the course of the mayor and corporation of New-
York. With the utmost readiness, and without
a dissenting voice, that body, in pursuance of a
report presented by Clinton, interposed its un-
impeached credit in behalf of the government;
and, procuring from the banks a loan, placed
$1,400,000 at the disposal of the governor.

In these patriotic exertions Clinton derived the
most steady and efficient support from members of
the corporation. Among t]\ese are particularly to
be remembered Aldermen Fish, Mapes, and Law-
rence. The first an old soldier of the Revolution,
and the brother in arms of Hamilton ; the second,
who, although a tradesman, exhibited in the dis-
cipline of a militia brigade, of which he was the
commander, and which was called into the service,
a high degree of military talent ; the third a bank-
er, who, by his judicious administration of the
finances of the city, had raised its credit from a
low ebb, until it was far superior to that of either
the general or state governments.

In the negotiations which attended this loan, an
incident occurred which may be here cited as ex-
hibiting the character of the man who speedily
became the opponent and persecutor of Clinton,
who had raised him from obscurity. The corpora-
tion had stipulated that it should receive United

204 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

States' treasury notes as vouchers for the loan thus
made to the general government. The comptroll-
er, Mr. Mercein, waited on the governor, by ap--
pointment, with one of the instalments. The notes
were exhibited to him, wanting only the signature
of Tompkins, who stated that a wish to be present
at the approaching confinement of his lady com-
pelled him to set off that afternoon for Albany,
and that he would take it as a favour if the exe-
cution of these notes were postponed until his re-
turn. The comptroller, without hesitation, com-
plied with the request ; and there is no doubt that
the governor did at the time intend to fulfil his
promise. But, in the interval, other pressing de-
mands arose, and the treasury notes were applied
to other purposes. It now became a question of
personal veracity between the governor and the
comptroller ; the former denying that he had
given the promise, the latter asserting it. The
general government, in the end, made good the
amount, and the comptroller was relieved from his
responsibility, so that the pecuniary part of the dis-
pute was adjusted. In the denial, however, Tomp-
kins had forgotten, what the comptroller was not
aware of, that a witness was present at the confer-
ence, who can, even at this late period, bear his
testimony to the correctness of the statement of
the latter. A young officer, charged with exhib-
iting to the governor the report on the fortifica-

DEWITT CLINTON. 205

tions at Haerlem and Brooklyn, was in the room
when the comptroller was announced, and was
requested by the governor to take a seat, and wait
until the business with the comptroller was trans-
acted. The transaction, according to his recollec-
tion, was in all respects conformable to the state-
ment of Mr. Mercein. It would therefore appear
that the governor, when he applied the treasury
notes to other purposes, and found he could not re-
place them, preferred the sacrifice of a political
opponent to a controversy with the administration,
into which he must have entered had he maintain-
ed, as he ought, the claims of the City of New-
York.

The same weakness was the cause of a subse-
quent dispute in accounts between Tompkins and
the comptroller of the State of New-York, in
which the difference amounted to a very large
sum. No one now believes that he was actually
a defaulter, or had applied money to his own pur-
poses ; but he yielded to the necessities of the
general government, and appropriated to its ser-
vice moneys intrusted by the State of New-York ;
and the state, with a true sense of its dignity, for-
gave him the debt, although he had not taken the
proper steps for enabling it to be recovered from
the administration at Washington.

On another occasion, the influence of Clinton
with the body over whose deliberations he presi-

S

206 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ded was materially of use to the general govern-
ment. A steam 'ship-of-war was building under
the direction of Fulton, and the government was
unable to supply the funds for continuing the work.
An application was in consequence made to the
corporation of New-York for aid ; but the finance
committee, looking into it only as a matter of busi-
ness, had determined to report against a grant, be-
cause it would unnecessarily involve the city in
debt. In this emergency Clinton interposed, and
was successful in convincing the committee that
the loan ought to be made.

We thus see that Clinton was in favour of a
war with Great Britain ; that no sooner was war
declared than he gave the government his undi-
vided support ; that he was foremost in the meas-
ures of defence by which the City of New-York
was rendered inaccessible to the marauding bands
of Ross and Cockburn ; and that he was the first
mover in the measures by which the necessary
funds were raised for the purpose. If, in the ac-
tion of the corporation on the first two points, he
was aided by his ancient opponents in that body,
he was not less assisted in the financial part of the
operation by many who had not yet abandoned
the name and the party distinctions of federalists.
Rufus ICing addressed a large assemblage of citi-
zens at the Tontine Coffee House in aid of the
contemplated loan ; and a great number of citi-

DEWTTT CLINTON. 207

zens of the federal party enrolled themselves as
volunteers.

On this occasion the old party lines were com-
pletely obliterated ; no trace of affection for Great
Britain remained in any mind, and the very name
of federalist only exists to be used as a mode of
discrediting a political adversary in the minds of
the ignorant. The only wonder is, that, in a com-
munity where the means of education are so easily
accessible to all, its good sense should not revolt
at the employment of terms, the meaning of which
has long been obliterated.

Governor Tompkins reaped the full fruit of his
ingenious policy. Thirty thousand militia, inclu-
ding the flower of the youth of the state, and
many of the most promising of the party opposed
to the administration, were soon dispersed to carry
throughout the state the tidings of the affability,
the kindness, the devoted patriotism, and, as many
faithfully believed, the great military talent of the
governor ; while the citizens of New-York hailed
him as their champion and saviour. He was thus
clothed with sufficient power to use it to the injury
of Clinton, who was removed from his office of
mayor in 1815. It was attempted to justify his re-
moval on the grounds of his being originally an op-
ponent of the war, and of being wanting in patri-
otism to support it. How futile such charges were,
the facts we have cited will show. Nor were they
believed by the community, as will speedily appear.

208 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

To show how completely all party lines had
been obliterated by the war, and that opposition
to the measures which led to it was not felt, how-
ever strongly it might be proclaimed as a disqual-
ification, the successor of Clinton in the office of
mayor, in 1815, was his federal opponent, Jacob
Radcliff, who, on the temporary ascendency of his
party in 1810, had already superseded Clinton in
the same office.

In the mean time, the canal question slumber-
ed. The commissioners, indeed, made a report
in March, 1814, in which the plan of an incli-
ned plane was in express terms abandoned ; but,
within the next month, the authority granted to
them to contract for a loan was annulled by a
clause in the supply bill, where it had been pla-
ced, as being there unlikely to attract attention or
excite debate.

At the close of the war. Governor Tompkins
had it in his power to renew, by an official sug-
gestion, the attention of the public to the canal
policy. No man could have exposed the necessi-
ty and importance of a system of internal commu-
nication in more exact accordance with his own
particular views than he. These views were all
warlike, and directed to preparation for renewed
hostilities with Great Britain. He had seen can-
non dragged by land from Washington to Sack-
ett's Harbour, to arm the fleet which disputed the

DEWITT CLINTON. 209

command of Lake Ontario, and an enormous ex-
pense incurred in other ways for want of easy
communications. This glorious opportunity of
calKng the attention of the pubhc to canals, as the
most efficient means of security against attack, or
of collecting forces and material for offensive
operations, was lost by him. He had it in his
power to make himself the leader of that incon-
trollable spirit which speedily manifested itself, but
he neglected it.

In the mean time, Clinton, removed from all
official station, and abandoned by all political as-
sociates except a few personal friends, saw that
the moment had arrived for renewing his exertions
on behalf of the cause of canals. His means of
success were immeasurably diminished from the
time in which he led, in the councils of the state,
the solid and disciplined party to whose command
Tompkins had now succeeded, and could count on
the patriotic concurrence of such men as Piatt, Van
Rensselaer, and Morris, the leaders of his oppo-
nents in all other measures. The diminution of
his own immediate political resources did not dis-
may him. He trusted to the good sense and the
sound patriotism of his fellow-citizens, satisfied
that, could he obtain an impartial hearing, the
cause of internal improvement must triumph. He
therefore, in the autumn of 1815, called to his
aid Piatt, thus repajdng the confidence which that

S2

210 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

gentleman had, on the former occasion, reposed in
him, and with him that of WiUiam Bayard, who
then stood at the head of the mercantile commu-
nity in the city, of Thomas Eddy, his old associate
in the canal commission, of John Swartwout, who
forgot on this occasion their old strife even to
blood, of Cadwallader D. Golden, and of several
other influential and distinguished citizens. In
conformity with a pubhc call, a meeting was con-
vened at the City Hotel, w^hich, by the exertions of
his coadjutors, was numerously attended. Before
this meeting, a draught of a memorial, prepared
by Clinton, was laid and unanimously adopted.

This memorial was then circulated throughout
the state for signatures, and was everywhere re-
ceived with enthusiasm and subscribed with avid-
ity.

There have, in the course of American history,
been a few instances in which a single able state
paper, appealing to the patriotism and good sense
of the people in opposition to the cry of party or
the force of prejudice, has changed the whole
course of public sentiment, or created a new im-
pulse by which that sentiment w^as directed into
channels before unexplored. Among such in-
stances we may cite the proclamation of neutrali-
ty by Washington, and that in opposition to the
doctrine of nullification by Jackson. The memo-
rial in relation to the canals had a similar influ-

DEW ITT CLINTON. 211

ence within a less extended sphere. It exhibited
the practicability of the canal to Lake Erie in so
clear a light, and demonstrated its advantages
over the route by Lake Ontario so evidently, that
the first was never again questioned even for po-
litical effect, and the last sunk into oblivion. It
showed that the canal was not only practicable,
but that the benefits it would confer on the state
were such that it would be an advisable measui^e
even were it to return no revenue. It entered at
full length into an estimate of the cost of the ca-
nal, and demonstrated that the resources of the
state were adequate to its construction even in
default of any large income from tolls. Finally,
with feelings of extended patriotism, it proceeded
from the local benefits to be conferred on the State
of New- York, to the influence of such a work
upon the general prosperity of the nation, and its
effect in dra\ving more closely the bonds of union
among the states. The argument of this report
was so convincing, its appeal to feelings of indi-
vidual interest, of state pride, and national glory
so irresistible, that for the moment all opposition to
the scheme was silenced.

Had Clinton performed no- other act in relation
to the canal system than to compile the informa-
tion collected in this memorial, digest its argu-
ment, and recommend it to public attention by
the weight of his name and of his political and

212 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

personal influence, he would have been entitled to
stand first in the list of the promoters of this vast
and useful enterprise. But when we consider
that, in addition to the long and devoted atten-
tion which was necessary to prepare this report,
the broad and statesman-like views which it ex-
hibited, and the great authority of his name in
procuring its consideration and extensive adop-
tion, he from this time made the furtherance of
the canal policy the prominent mark of his noble
ambition, the services of all other persons, how-
ever eminent, sink into insignificance. No other
person ventured on the support of this policy
the adherence of his friends, his well-earned rep-
utation as a statesman, his character for prudence
and foresight, and, finally, all his prospects of fu-
ture elevation in political life ; all these, and they
were a mighty stake, Clinton committed to the
hazard of the success or failure of the canal poli-
cy. The fears of his timid friends he allayed;
the remonstrances of those who saw a surer way
for him to regain his political influence he disre-
garded, even at the cost of seeing them join the
ranks of his enemies; he was too well satisfied of
the accuracy of his calculations to dread the judg-
ment of posterity upon his prediction; and he
willingly placed all his future hopes of rank and
distinction upon the accomplishment of this single
measure.

DEWITT CLINTON. 213

CHAPTER XVL

Memorial is presented to the Legislature. — Final
Report of the Old Board of Commissioners. —
Law to provide for the Improvement of the In-
ternal JYavigation of the State. — The JVeiu
Board of Commissioners enter upon their dur-
ties. — Their Report. — Vast amount of field-
work pe formed under their direction. — Scheme
of Finance. — Law of Congress for promoting
Internal Improvements. — Its Rejection hy Pres-
ident Madison as unconstitutional . — Modifica-
tions rendered necessary in the Scheme of Fi-
nance.— The Bill to authorize the construction
of the Canal becomes a Law. — Opposition of the
City Delegation. — The Canal Policy made hy
them a party question.

The memorial of which we have spoken in the
last chapter was signed by a great number of per-
sons in the city of New-York ; it was enforced by
a recommendation from the corporation of that
city, and seconded by the action of pubhc meet-
ings in Albany, and nearly all the towns and vil-
lages to the west and north of that place. It
was presented to the Legislature about the same
time with the final report of the old board of com-

2 14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

missioners. This report refers to the number and
respectabiUty of the appHcations before the Le-
gislature in favour of an immediate prosecution of
the canal, as an evidence that its advantages were
appreciated by the citizens of the state. The re-
port, in addition, recommends the construction of
the Champlain Canal, and urges the superiority of
the Erie over the Ontario route. The original
draught, as in former cases, had been made by
Morris; but, in consequence of alterations made
in it by the other commissioners, he declined to
sign it.

The time had passed when eloquent declama-
tion could be received as a substitute for sound
practical views. The community had been ex-
cited to the examination of the project upon its
real merits by the brilliant effusions of Morris,
but had, on consideration, seen that they pointed
out schemes which were impracticable. To this
expressed will of the people the commissioners
found themselves compelled to conform ; and, in
spite of the respect they entertained for the char-
acter of that distinguished man, they, with abso-
lute unanimity, concurred in the amendments and
alterations.

Clinton, after the presentation of the memorial,
proceeded to Albany to enforce, by his personal
and political mfluence, its favourable reception,
and to urge its being acted upon Although

DEWITT CLINTON. 215

many friends of the measure were desirous of ob-
taining authority to commence the work, no more
was gained from the Legislature than the means
of proceeding with the inquiry, in such manner
that the surveys, which had hitherto been confined
to mere exploration, should be directed to the ac-
tual location, and the rude calculations made from
partial researches extended into close and accu-
rate estimates of the probable cost. Clinton and
the other memorialists prudently abstained from
jeoparding their cause, by insisting upon any com-
mittal on the part of the state, until such estimates
could be submitted, or any appropriation beyond
the cost of survey, until a scheme of finance had
been prepared adequate to the magnitude of the
operation.

In compliance with the prayer of the memorial,
an act was passed on the 17th April, 1816, "to
provide for the improvement of the internal nav-
igation of the state." In this act Stephen Van
Rensselaer, Dewitt Clinton, Samuel Young, My-
ron Holley, and Joseph Elliott, were named com-
missioners. Their prescribed duties were to con-
sider and devise such measures as might be neces-
sary to connect Hudson River with Lake Cham-
plain and Lake Erie ; they were required to re-
port within twenty days after the commencement
of the next annual session of the Legislature j and

216 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY,

$20,000 were appropriated for the expenses of
the inquiry.

No time was lost by the commissioners in enter-
ing upon their duties, and sufficient corps of engi-
neers were forthwith organized. Three of the
commissioners assumed active duties in the field,
and, dividing the work into the same number of
parts, pressed the performance of the surveys in
person. These gentlemen, thus devoting their
whole time to the work, were entitled to, and re-
ceived a compensation for their services. Clinton
and Van Rensselaer, who performed at least equal
services in another manner, would accept of no
remuneration.

Clinton devoted much attention, during the re-
cess of the Legislature, to the consideration of a
scheme of finance. The first point to be ascer-
tained was the possibility of borrowing a sufficient
amount, provided satisfactory security could be ex-
hibited. For this purpose he placed himself in
communication with the most intelligent merchants
of the City of New-York ; and, as the intercourse
with Europe was reopened, he had an opportunity,
which he sedulously improved, of consulting the
travellers who had repaired to England on the ces-
sation of hostilities, and were from time to time re-
turning. All accounts seemed to encourage the
hope that no difficulty would be experienced in
raising sufficient funds. A more important obsta-

DEWITT CLINTON. 217

cle was therefore to be overcome, that of devising
a system of finance. The Legislature had indeed,
on a former occasion, clothed the old board of
commissioners with power to borrow five millions
of dollars on the simple pledge of the faith of
the state. Clinton, whatever may have been his
opinion on a former occasion, was now satisfied of
the cardinal principle, that no debt ought in any
event to be contracted by a government, unless a
fund were at the same time provided for paying
its interest and for its final redemption. The in-
come of the canal itself might, indeed, be calcula-
ted upon for a part, if not the whole, of the latter
object ; but he felt convinced, that even if the ab-
solute maintenance of the public faith did not re-
quire an income to be provided from other sources,
yet the rate of interest at which a loan could be
procured would be much lessened by exhibiting
to the lender a pledge of resources which would
render his remuneration sure, even were the proj-
ect on which the capital should be expended to

fail.

The commonplace-book of Clinton abounds
with extracts made by him at this period from
the best authors on the principles of finance and
the management of a public debt, and manifests
how attentively he studied this subject, and what
labour he devoted to master the details.

The great success of the New-York canals has

T

218" AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

stimulated almost every other state of the Union to
similar enterprises. Many of these have been
judiciously planned and successfully prosecuted.
They have furnished in such cases revenues which
have at least paid the interest on their cost. There
are, again, other instances, in which the plan has
been so far judicious, that new wealth has been cre-
ated more than equal to the expenditure on the im-
provement, but where the income has barely defray-
ed the cost of maintaining the work. The ease
with which New-York has paid its interest, and the
rapidity with which the sinking-fund has accumu-
lated to the full amount of the original debt, has
raised the credit of the nation in foreign marts, and
has afforded to other states facilities for loans which
even New-York did not at first enjoy. The mere
pledge of the public faith has, in consequence, been
of late found sufficient to obtain a loan. It has
thus happened, that, in almost all recent instances,
the wise precaution taken by the State of New-
York has been neglected. Public w^orks have been
commenced to an extent w^holly unauthorized by
the business and population of the states to which
they belong ; no other funds than the prospective
income of the finished work have been thought of;
and, in almost all cases, the borrower, instead of
endeavouring to ensure the redemption of the debt
by a fund accumulating at compound interest, has
trusted to new loans to meet the interest itself, and

"DEWITT CLINTON. 219

tlius allowed the debt to accumulate in the same
•rapid manner. Such is the consequence of this
method of accumulation, that if, on the one hand,
the smallest excess of fund over and above the in-
terest must in the end extinguish the debt, on the
other the debt will increase so fast, that the most
brilliant final success will hardly be sufficient to re-
duce it when thus compounded.

The system of borrowing without an intermedi-
ate provision for the interest is besides objection-
able, inasmuch as the rate of interest will be con-
tinually rising upon the borrower, until it may
happen that the funds for the completion of the
works of improvement cannot be obtained, and
thus the anticipated revenue may never be real-
ized.

It is by a neglect of this cardinal principle that
the new states of the Union are at this moment
suffering under the evils of a total prostration of
credit, and public works, undertaken and carried
on at a vast expense, are lying unfinished, and, con-
sequently, unproductive.

The question whether a public debt is to have
its interest and final redemption provided for at the
moment it is contracted, or whether it is to be
sanctioned by a simple pledge of the public faith,
has been among the distinctive characters of the
two great schools of politicians which have divi-
ded our country from the time it became independ-

220 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ent. At the head of one school stands Hamilton,
and at that of the other Jefferson. In the practi-
cal action of the general government, no injury has
arisen from the predominance of the opinions of
the latter. The great debt contracted during the
war of 1812 has been redeemed by the proceeds
of the national domain, and the people, as a body,
have not felt it as a burden. But the states stand
in a very different position; they have, as a general
rule, no landed estate to resort to for the payment of
their loans; and any great debt contracted by them,
beyond the hmit which can be sustained by an ex-
isting revenue, must be followed by breach of faith,
or even by absolute bankruptcy. It is highly to
the credit of Clinton, that, educated in the school
of Jefferson, and holding all its tenets, he was en-
abled to free himself from its shackles in this point
of policy.

The canal commissioners reported in due season
to the Legislature. It appeared that 440 miles of
canal had been traced upon the ground, and the
cost of construction estimated. This was found to
be nearly six millions of dollars ; and it is one of
the peculiar features of the history of the canal,
that, in spite of the amount of work in survey and
calculation being greater than had ever before
been performed in so short a space of time and at
so small a cost, the actual construction has differed
less from the estimate than in almost any similar

DEWITT CLINTON. 221

instance. The commissioners, in order to ensure
this, had laid it down as a principle, that every
probable expense should be included in the esti-
mate, and every possible contingency provided
for. Such, however, was the distrust, arising
from experience of the inaccuracy of estimates,
that many of the best friends of the measure feared
that the anticipations of the commissioners were
too sanguine, while those opposed to it maintained
that the estimates were made up with a view to
deceive, in order to embark the state in a project
which, if once begun, must be completed, whatever
might be the cost.

When the report had been presented and refer-
red, the committee to whose charge it was intrust-
ed asked from the commissioners the draught of
a law providing for the construction of the canal
and creating a system of finance. This draught
was made by Clinton. The scheme of finance
created a canal fund, vested in a board, and pledg-
ed the faith of the state that it should not be di-
verted. No pledge was originally given in the
draught of the credit of the state, to provide for
either principal or interest, beyond the fund point-
ed out and made sacred. The question of finance
appeared to have been much simplified, at the mo-
ment the report was presented, by an act which
had just passed both Houses of Congress. By
this act, the income of the stock held by the gov-

T2

222 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ernment in the Bank of the United States was
directed to be distributed among the several states
for the purpose of internal improvements. Under
it the State of New-York would have received
$90,000 per annum, which would have been
equivalent to the interest on a loan sufficient to
meet the estimated cost of one fourth of the canal.
Upon this liberal measure, which would have dif-
fused wealth and happiness throughout the Union,
Mr. Madison set his veto in the very last moment
of his administration. The cause assigned for this
measure was, that the law was unconstitutional ;
yet he at the same moment approved a law making
a large appropriation for the Cumberland road,
and another making a grant to a road in Tennes-
see. The nice casuistry by which it has been de-
cided that certain public improvements fall within
the granted powers of the general government,
while others do not, is beyond the comprehension
of those who are not accustomed to thread the
mazes of metaphysical investigation ; while the
dictates of plain common sense would seem to es-
tablish the conclusion, that the framers of the Con-
stitution could never have intended to exclude the
power of granting the surplus funds of the general
government, in a fair ratio of distribution, among
the individual states. The truth is, that the prob-
ability that the Union could ever have a surplus of
income over expenditures seems never to have oc-

DEWITT CLINTON. 223

curred to the framers of the Constitution, nor was
there any precedent in modern times whence such
an anticipation could have been drawn.

Those have not been wanting who have ascribed
this act of Mr. Madison to a desire to prevent the
construction of the New- York canal. If the ad-
mitted patriotism of that distinguished citizen be
urged as evidence that such could not have been
the case, still the assertion that such were his mo-
tives has been maintained by most plausible ar-
guments. Chnton was at the moment, by his
strenuous exertions in the cause of internal im-
provements, acquiring a popularity, which one
whom he had presumed to rival in the affections,
not only of the country at large, but of the demo-
cratic party itself, might well have desired to low-
er. The State of New-York was to derive the
most direct apparent benefit from the grant ; and a
Virginian might well have desired to check that
prosperity which was soon to place New-York in
the highest rank for population and wealth, and
which has, in the end, substituted the " Empire
State" for the " Old Dominion" in its standing in
the Union. Personal rivalry, political hostility, and
local prejudice, may then have reasonably been ex-
pected to exist in the mind of Madison, if it had
been capable of entertaining such feelings.

The loss of so large an anticipated source of in-
come rendered it necessary to amend the project

224 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of finance submitted by Clinton, after it had been
reported to the House of Assembly. Mr. Tibbitts,
then a member of the Senate, claims that the
whole of the important changes which were made
in the bill, grew out of his suggestions.

Clinton, in a history of the proceedings, pub-
lished under the signature of Tacitus, ascribes great
improvements in his original draught to the " use-
ful suggestions of Messrs. Van Rensselaer (J. Rut-
sen), Tibbitts, and Few." One of the features in-
troduced into the bill was unquestionably contrary
to the wishes of Chnton. A large duty was levied
by the authority of the state upon sales at auction
in the City of New-York. This had at first been
applied to local purposes within that city; one
half had then been withdrawn for the general
purposes of the state, and the bill, as passed, de-
prived the city of the other half, and threw the
whole into the canal lund. To this CHnton was
opposed. He would have preferred to see the ex-
ecution of his darling project delayed rather than
give his sanction to an act of injustice. The auc-
tion duty has been represented, and thus its diver-
sion into the general funds of the state justified,
as a tax upon the consumer, when all who have
watched its operation know that it falls almost
wholly on the importers of the City of New-York,
who voluntarily submit to it as the price of a more
speedy and safe return for their capital.

DEW ITT CLINTON. 225

On the other hand, a feature which contributed
mainly to the passage of the bill, and which was
just in itself, was introduced by William A. Duer.
He was a representative from one of the counties
which could not, in any event, be benefited, and
might possibly be injured by the construction of
the canal; and his constituents were, in conse-
quence, opposed to it, particularly if it would
have subjected them to any risk of taxation for
its support. In order to conciliate this opposition,
he added a clause to the bill, by which the lands
for twenty-five miles on each side of the canal
were made liable to taxation. This went far to
satisfy those parts of the state which derived no
immediate advantage from the construction of the
canal, and was not objected to by its friends. Cir-
cumstances have rendered it unnecessary, but the
strict justice of the measure, and its expediency at
the moment, no one can doubt.

In the Senate, Mr. Van Buren, the present Pres-
ident of the United States, who had in the prece-
ding session opposed any measures beyond those of
inquiry, and had, in consequence, been considered
as hostile to the canal, came out as its supporter ;
and, not content with supporting the bill as it came
from the Assembly, proposed the addition of a
clause pledging the general credit of the state in
addition to the funds set apart as sacred for the re-
demption of the canal debt. This addition, if ad-

226 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

mitted to have aided in obtaining the necessary
funds, has not been salutary either to the State of
New- York, or as an example to other states. The
revenue of the canal fund, and the income of the
canal, if kept separate upon the books of account
from the general finances of the state, have, in
point of fact, been mixed with them into one com-
mon mass. The state, apparently possessed of am-
ple funds, has abandoned taxation as a source of
revenue for its annual expenses, and is thus largely
in debt to the canal fund ; while the enlargement
of the canal itself, and the extension of the benefits
of internal improvement to other regions of the
state, has been retarded, if not prevented alto-
gether.

That the canal shall, by its operation, have
done away the necessity of continuing to resort to
an annual tax, is, however, one of its most popular
features.

After a long and severe contest, the bill at last
passed both houses of the Legislature. This re-
sult may be ascribed almost wholly to the exer-
tions of Clinton, who, going before a legislature,
a majority of which was either actually opposed
or wholly indifferent on the subject, brought pub-
lic opinion to bear upon its members with such
force, that opponents were converted or silenced,
and the indifferent convinced.

Even after the battle had been fought in the

DEWITT CLINTON. 227

Legislature, a difficulty remained to be overcome
in obtaining its passage through the council of
revision. This was achieved by the vote of Chan-
cellor Kent, who had doubts for a time as to the
feasibility of the project ; but, according to his own
statement, was brought to give a casting vote in
its favour by the very arguments which Governor
Tompkins urged against it.

Among the steady and determined opponents
of the canal bill, in every stage, were the delega-
tion in Assembly of the City of New-York, and the
senators of the Southern District. The former
had been elected in the place of a delegation
which was friendly to the canal, and in declared
opposition to the name and the policy of Clinton.
Hostility to him prevailed over all considerations
of public benefit ; and this being made the ground
of their vote on the canal question, converted the
decision of the Legislature into a personal tri-
umph.

It thus happened, as in more than one other in-
stance, that the measures adopted by the political
opponents of Clinton only brought out in more dis-
tinct relief the importance of his agency in pre-
paring the way for that decided expression of pub-
lic opinion by which the construction of the canal
was in a manner forced upon cold friends or de-
cided enemies. By making the canal policy of
the state a party question, they compelled Clinton

228 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

to do the same, and the attainment of the end for
which he strove became to him a pohtical victory.
It is thus, by the necessity under which he was
placed of bringing the whole weight of his influ-
ence to bear upon the canal question, and the
firm and unflinching manner in which he ventured
his whole political fortune on its result, that his
name has become inseparable from the history of
the canal policy of the state. All other persons,
however useful they may have been in promoting
the desired result, made the canal no more than a
secondary consideration in their respective projects
of ambition. Its success or failure would neither
have elevated nor depressed them in the public
view, while with Clinton it was the primary object
of his aspirations ; and its success so far exalted
him in the eye of the people, that his political op-
ponents were finally compelled to enter with ap-
parent ardour into the support of the canal policy
for the purpose of defeating him.

DEWITT CLINTON. 229

CHAPTER XVII.

Clinton is elected Governor of the State of KeW"
York. — Apparent Calm in Party Feelings. —
Causes of renewed Party Violence. — Tompkins
is held icp as a Candidate in opposition to him,
Clinton^ s Re-election. — Farther increase of Par-
ty Violence. — Interference of the General Gov-
ernment.— Personal Hostility added to Feelings
of Party. — Important Measures recommended
by Clinton and carried in the Legislature. —
Character of his Speeches to the Legislature.

Clinton, who was brought, by his attendance
on the Legislature, in contact with a new race of
pohtical men, with a Legislature composed of
persons to many of whom he had hitherto been a
stranger, received an accession to his popularity
which was speedily manifested in an unexpected
manner. Madison's second term as president was
about to expire, and Monroe had been elected his
successor. Tompkins, who had been re-elected
governor of the state in 1816, was chosen vice-
president. Many persons appeared to have been
under the impression that the vacancy left by his
acceptance of the office must necessarily be sup-
plied during the remaining part of the term for

L

230 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

which he had been elected, by the Heutenant-gov-
ernor. There was then no space left for political
agitation, or the attempt to bias the opinion of the
people by self-constituted leaders. When it was
ascertained that the Constitution required the elec-
tion of a new governor for the remainder of the
terra for which Tompkins had been chosen, a
universal expression of opinion in favour of Clin-
ton's nomination broke forth. His old democratic
friends in the country joined in the general wish ;
the federal party, so long his opponents, had ceas-
ed to exist as an organized faction, and its leaders
admitted that they could not recall it from its dis-
banded state to act either in his favour or against
him. The partisans who occupied Tammany Hall,
and directed the movements of the democratic par-
ty in the city, retained the animosity v;hich had
been engendered by his faithful exertions to main-
tain the public peace endangered at the breaking
out of the war. A feeble attempt at opposition
was made by this party, and Peter B. Porter was
brought forward as a candidate in opposition to
Clinton. The struggle, however, was almost nom-
inal, and the election of Clinton was achieved with
a unanimity unparalleled, except in the case of
his uncle, before party divisions had arisen, and
while the state was partially overrun by an enemy.
The spring of 1817 was therefore a period of
triumph in the life of Chnton. He had achieved

DEWITT CLINTON. 231

the passage of a bill which ensured the construction
of the canal, a result which had for so many years
been the first object of his wishes ; he had receiv-
ed the almost unanimous expression of the grati-
tude of his fellow-citizens for his long and faithful
services, under circumstances which showed that
he was not merely the idol of a party ; in addi-
tion, the successful termination of an important
lawsuit had relieved him from a state approaching
to pecuniary embarrassment. Every trace of po-
litical division seemed to have been obliterated;
and those unacquainted with the occult springs
which influence the actions of politicians thought
they saw in his inauguration as governor the be-
ginning of a political millennium, in which the
angry passions and fierce contests that had been
engaged in the long struggle between the federal
and democratic parties were to cease their de-
structive action. Clinton himself, with all his ex-
perience, was not free from the delusion, and pro-
nounced that in politics " all w^as calm." The
calm, however, w^as deceitful, and the precursor of
a strife more imbittered than any which the annals
of the politics of the state have recorded.

So completely had the old party distinctions
been obliterated, that the Legislature of 1818,
calling itself republican, chose as senator of the
United States Rufus King, who had been the can-
didate opposed to Tompkins in 1816, and w^as,

232 AMERICAN BIOGRAP H Y.

perhaps, more than any other person, obnoxious to
the old democratic party. In this choice, Clinton,
who had been so long opposed to him, and who, al-
though repudiated by the supporters of Tompkins,
had refused to sustain King when held up as can-
didate for the office of governor, cordially united.

The opposition to Clinton in the city of New-
York was, however, unabated, and was speedily re-
enforced by the whole weight of the executive in-
fluence of the general government. Some attempts
had been made by mutual friends to bring about a
good understanding between President Monroe
and the governor of New- York, but they were so
injudiciously managed as to lead more speedily to
an open breach. Without the necessity of believ-
ing the charges, which the opposition have so fre-
quently made, of direct corruption on the part of
the general government in the elections of the
city, it possesses evidently a great and powerful in-
fluence upon the most active politicians by the num-
ber and value of its custom-house appointments.
The whole of this corps was forthwith banded
with the opponents of Clinton's administration.

Clinton, in his struggle with the federal party,
had not been sparing in his denunciations and in-
vectives, nor measured in the tone of his speeches
and writings. He had also committed the less
pardonable offence of holding aloof when it was
. expected that he would have joined them. The

DEWITT CLINTON. 233

wounds thus inflicted were but partially healed
and easily reopened. From causes which at this
distant date can hardly be appreciated, fifty-one
gentlemen, comprising a most formidable array of
talent and activity, joined in a declaration by which
they withdrew themselves from the federal party,
and united with the opponents of Clinton. Many
of these gentlemen, although opposed to the war
in its early stages, had been actively and gallant-
ly engaged in the defence of the country when
threatened by invasion; and the leaders of the
democratic party in the city were willing to accept
of this service, with the promise of their aid in the
overthrow of Clinton, sa a compensation for their
ancient opposition.

Clinton, by the very excess of his triumph, had
become possessed of the whole appointing power.
The first council of appointment under his admin-
istration was composed wholly of his friends, and
thus, for almost the only session during the exist-
ence of that body, the whole load of responsibility
appeared to rest upon the governor. As was natu-
ral, he gave in appointments a decided preference
to the small band of devoted friends who, during
the apparent downfall of his political influence
which accompanied his removal from the office of
mayor, had remained steadfast in their affections.
These were obnoxious from old feelings to the fed-
eralists, and still more so to the democratic party of

U2

234 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the city, which had been taught to consider them as
apostates. From this cause, in addition to the dis-
satisfaction arising from disappointed apphcations,
a great loss of popularity arose, and Clinton had
not in his hands the powerful engine of party dis-
ciphne by which unsuccessful applicants for office
are compelled to hide their griefs.

The triumph of the canal policy had produced
discontent in many of the counties which derived
no direct benefit from it. This was artfully foster-
ed ; and, assigning to Chnton that prominent agen-
cy in procuring the passage of the canal bill, and
creating the canal policy of the state, which was
afterward denied him by the same persons, an out-
cry was raised against what was opprobriously
styled " the big ditch," and against Clinton as its
projector and supporter.

The honest opponents of the canal believed it
to be a visionary and impracticable scheme. The
political foes of Clinton endeavoured to strengthen
them in this opinion by every possible, argument,
and demanded that his political success should be
made to depend on the success or failure of that
project. So powerful were these arguments as to
shake the belief of many of his most earnest friends,
and he w^as strongly urged by many of them to
separate his fortunes from an enterprise, the success
of which was at least doubtful. Clinton reassured
them by pleading the absolute certainty of its suc^

DEWITT CLINTON. 235

cess, and determined to risk the chance of victory
or defeat on that question alone, which thus be-
came the main point at issue in the ensuing elec-
tion.

The militia system, as practised in the United
States, is obnoxious to ridicule. That shopkeepers,
tailors, and attorneys shall, by virtue of a brevet or
commission, attach high-sounding military titles to
their names, may easily be made a matter of mer-
riment to those who forget that a country shop-
keeper successfully defended the Niagara frontier,
and carried the war into the enemy's country ;
that a tailor trained a militia brigade to manoeuvre
as well as regular troops ; and that an attorney
led the battalions which crossed bayonets with the
veterans of Wellington, and drove them from the
field. The ridicule which the system itself may
be made to provoke, was poured upon the head of
the functionary whence the commissions and bre-
vets issued.

His first term of office had been marked by two
reforms of great moment in the administration of
the laws. The first was the reduction of the num-
ber of justices' courts. These had become an ab-
solute nuisance; the marshals were permitted to
act as counsel for the plaintiff in the suit, and
strong suspicion was entertained of collusion be-
tween them and the magistrates whence they de-
rived their appointments. At all events, the great

236 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

number of suits which were decided in favour of
those who brought business to the court, gave
ground for a beUef of unfair influence. By the
new law nearly a thousand petty courts ceased to
exist, with their retinue of official harpies.

A practice had gradually grown up among attor-
neys of buying up claims for the purpose of prose-
cuting them. This had reached to such an extent
as to amount to a serious evil. Postested notes,
and other demands on which the original creditor
would have hesitated to incur the costs, were,
when in the hands of legal men, made the source
of oppression. This system was abolished by
law, and the taxable costs were, in addition, so
much reduced as to render it not worth pursuing.
The underlings of the legal profession v/ere much
enraged at this change, so advantageous for cH-
ents, and one of them was so far carried away by
his anger as to resign his license in open court.

These reforms fell upon men who are most loud
and busy at elections, and arrayed their whole
force in enmity against Clinton.

Such being the elements of opposition, and such
the weapons it had in its power to employ, it only
remained to seek for a suitable candidate to run
against Clinton when the three years for which he
had been elected as a substitute for Tompkins
should have expired. Such a candidate was found
in Tompkins himself, who, although he had re-

DEWITT CLINTON. 237

/

signed the office of governor in order to accept
that of vice-president, was induced to oppose
CHnton : and although, if successful, he must re-
turn to the post whence he had considered him-
self promoted. We have already seen what an
extent of popularity he had acquired ; and he was
the most formidable competitor who could possibly
have been selected.

Tompkins had been throughout opposed to the
canal, and his election would in all probability
have been followed by the cessation of all work
upon it, and the withdrawal of the funds appro-
priated as a pledge, except so far as necessary to
provide for loans already contracted. On this
election, then, depended in a great measure the
hopes of the system of internal improvement ; for
had Clinton been defeated in this instance, it
would have been hardly possible to find any pol-
itician who would have renewed the consideration
of a question, on which he had been so signally
defeated.

The election was contested with great spirit on
both sides. The southern counties gave Tomp-
kins large majorities, but they were more than
counteracted by the population of the West, and
Clinton received about two thousand votes more
than his opponent. On the other hand, as the di-
vision of the state into counties and senatorial dis-
tricts did not give to the new regions of the West

238 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

a representation proportioned to their population,
the House of Assembly mustered a majority of the
friends of Tompkins, by whom also a large pro-
portion of the vacancies in the Senate were sup-
plied. Clinton therefore entered upon his new
term of office in 1819 along with a hostile Legis-
lature.

We have stated that the influence of the ex-
ecutive of the general government was arrayed
against Clinton in this election. This influence
had been gradually growing for several yeai*s.
At the adoption of the Constitution, the minor ap-
pointments of the custom-house had been chiefly
given to officers of the Revolutionary army ; and,
although by far the greater part of these had
joined the federal party, Jefferson would not per-
mit them to be disturbed. This was in accordance
with his usual policy, not to remove from office
without cause ; and the mere expression of prefer-
ence by a silent vote he did not admit to be one.
The number of this respectable body was rapidly
thinned by death, while, at the same time, the
growing commerce of New- York demanded that
more officers should be appointed than would
merely fill the vacancies. The appointments Avere
generally made from among those who had been
the most active at elections in the support of the
democratic party. Gaining their offices by such
means, they did not relax their electioneering ef-

D E W I T T C L I x\ T 0 N. 239

forts after appointment, but continued to figure as
leaders of the party.

Clinton felt himself aggrieved by the strength
which this body of active politicians gave to the
ranks of his opponents.

In King's county the election had been decided
against him by the workmen of the navy-yard.
These, not content with the quiet exercise of the
elective franchise, had proceeded to the polls in
procession, to the sound of military music.

Indignant at what he considered an unwarrant-
able interference in the state elections, Clinton
could not refrain from alluding to the facts in his
speech to the Legislature. This body, although
the fact that all on whom the government could
exert influence had voted against him was notori-
ous, affected to doubt his statement, and with little
courtesy called for proofs. It w^as trusted, in ma-
king this call, that the links by which the acts at
the polls were connected with the government at
Washington could not be detected, and in the ev-
idence he adduced a part of them w^as wanting.
He however proved, in more than one instance,
that votes were given under the influence of fear
of loss of oflSce. At the present day, the fact of
direct influence exerted by the executive is not
doubted, and the evil has become such that a law
has been passed by Congress to prevent the ofl^i-

240 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

cers of the customs from "being assessed for the
support of elections.

Clinton, who could not read the secret coun-
cils of his enemies, unluckily chose by name as
an active agent of the government in opposing
him one who was his sincere friend, and had la-
boured most strenuously to prevent a breach be-
tw^een the president and the governor of New-
York, but who, failing in the attempt, for reasons
very different from personal hostility, was found in
the ranks of his political opponents. The mutual
friends of the parties had, however, the gratifica-
tion to see that, before the lapse of many years,
amicable relations were restored between them.

However ably and completely the general truth
of his allegations was supported by Clinton, the
Legislature treated the matter as a party question,
and the only opportunity which has presented it-
self of examining how far the general govern-
ment has a right to interfere with state elections,
was lost. It would, however, appear to be abso-
lutely essential to the consistency of the principles
of a free government, that all who derive emolu-
ment either from the state or general government,
by an office held during pleasure, should be ipso
facto disfranchised.

The violence of party which had been brought
into action in this election, so far from subsiding
after its result was known, became yet greater.

DEWITT CLINTON. 241

An array of talent, such as has rarely been enlisted
in any political struggle, was brought into action
by the opponents of Clinton. Serious argument,
satirical poems, and newspaper squibs were show-
ered upon his policy, his person, and his friends.
His scientific pursuits, in particular, became the
subject of ridicule. He, on his side, defended
himself manfully ; and if he could not consistent-
ly descend to encounter the wit of his antagonists,
he met and often foiled them in serious argument.
These contests w^ere not carried on without ex-
citing painful feelings. He had to experience the
annoyance of seeing men whom he had considered
as friends, and w^ho were indebted to him for fa-
vours, arrayed against him. The harmony of the
canal board itself w^as broken in upon, and he felt
compelled to pour a torrent of indignant eloquence
upon one of his colleagues. A still severer trial
awaited him in a public conflict wdth a soldier
who stood most deservedly high in the estimation
of his countrymen for bravery and good conduct.
It is painful to reflect that two such men should,
by the force of party violence, have been brought
into a position of such deadly hostility. Clinton's
letters on this occasion are among the ablest of
his productions, and are master-pieces of the art of
invective. It may be regretted that he felt it ne-
cessary to vindicate himself by retorting the at-
tack upon him ; but this course was indispensable

X

242 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

in the critical state of his pohtical prospects, and
was successful in sustaining his personal dignity
and that of his office.

The result of the election had shown that a
very decided majority of the citizens of the state
was in favour of the canal policy; for not only
was every vote given for Clinton that of a friend
to the enterprise, but there were among the adhe-
rents of Tompkins some who, although the political
opponents of Clinton, were yet committed to the
support of that measure. The mode of attack
was therefore adroitly changed. It was attempt-
ed to deprive Clinton of all merit in the original
design of the canal, and all claim to gratitude for
his exertions in its behalf. He was accused of
having appropriated what was due to Morris ; and
when the true state of their relative services was
known, obscure names, of which the people had
never heard, were brought forward to deprive both
of the honour. It is remarkable, that in this dis-
cussion, Piatt, who had been the first to propose
action on the part of the state, instead of com-
mitting the interests to an incorporated company,
with Geddes, who had explored the Erie route,
and demonstrated its practicability, were not even
mentioned. The former was now classed with the
friends of Clinton ; the latter, who was probably
on the same list, would have disavowed anything
which was not actually his due. Neither, there-

DEWITT CLINTON. 243

fore, were suited for the purpose of lessening the
merit of the governor.

During these discussions, the canal commission-
ers continued their exertions strenuously. The
level between Utica and Syracuse was put under
contract in 1817; ground was broken the 4th of
July of the same year, and this central portion of
the canal was finished in 1819.

Clinton retained, with his office of governor, his
seat as president of the board of canal commis-
sioners, and devoted all his leisure from the duties
of the former to the business of the latter. This
business he had from the beginning performed
without any compensation, although by usage he
might have been fairly entitled to it. He was
also placed in a position in which he had an
opportunity of speculating in lands likely to be
benefited by the location of the canal, and it
would have been easy to find associates who
would have purchased in their own names, and
paid him a share of the profits. This never ap-
pears to have been even suggested to his mind as
a temptation. No one dared to approach him
with such proposals ; and any idea of making use
to his own emolument of the advantages of his
position never occurred to him. This course was
not merely creditable to him as exhibiting his own
disinterestedness, but from the force of the exam-

244 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

pie he thus set to his colleagues, and all the en-
gineers employed upon the work.

While Clinton acted as governor, the business
of legislation fell, of course, into other hands. The
governor might indeed recommend in his speeches
and messages such policy as he approved, but the
draught of laws devolved upon committees of the
two houses. Still, measures were adopted at his
instance, while he yet was supported by a major-
. ity of the Legislature, which are of sufficient im-
portance to be mentioned, but others of no less
moment, and in which he took a lively interest,
were neglected.

In his inaugural speech he recommended the
institution of Savings' Banks and the establishment
of a Board of Agriculture. These recommenda-
tions were repeated in his messages to the Legis-
lature, and both were finally adopted. They have
each, in their respective sphere, been of great ben-
efit. The Savings' Bank, by affording an oppor-
tunity for investing small amounts, which would
otherwise have been expended on useless ob-
jects or committed to irresponsible hands, has not
only increased the comfort and independence,
but raised the moral character of the labouring
classes. The Board of Agriculture, with its
branches in every county, has excited an emula-
tion among the farmers which has improved their
methods of cultivation, and has spread throughout

DEWITT CLINTON. 245

the state, by its valuable reports, knowledge of the
most useful character.

He also recommended, on more than one occa-
sion, reforms of the criminal code as well as of
the civil jurisprudence, which were but partially
acted upon by the Legislature.

The State of New- York had always exported
flour, and the increase of agriculture has kept
pace with that of population in such manner that
a surplus production of wheat has been main-
tained. The soil and climate are highly favoura-
ble to its culture ; and, as experience has proved,
there was no reason why the flour of New-York
should not bear as high a character as that of
any other state. At the time Clinton was elected
governor, this was far from being the case. Vir-
ginia and Pennsylvania enjoyed a higher reputa-
tion in this respect, and their merchants and
farmers derived higher profits in consequence.
Their flour sold in foreign markets from one
dollar and a half to two dollars higher than that
of New- York. Clinton satisfied himself that this
was not owing to any imperfection in the raw
material, or any fault of the manufacturer pro-
ducing an average inferiority, but to a careless
inspection. This, by permitting low qualities to
pass with the highest brand, brought the whole
crop down to the value of the lowest in public
estimation. He therefore, in 1819, proposed ari

X2

246 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

alteration of the inspection law, which did not
pass, but he at the same time superseded the in-
spector. The consequence of this movement of
Clinton has been to exalt the character of the
brands of the New- York inspection, until they
rank higher than those of any other state.

His speeches to the Legislature were replete
with sound views of policy, evincing the experi-
enced and patriotic statesman j and thus, although
intended for local purposes alone, they were
sought with avidity throughout the Union, and
were awaited with greater interest than the con-
temporaneous messages of the President of the
United States,

DEWITT CLINTON. 247

CHAPTER XVm.

Objections to the old Constitution of the State. —
^11 Parties concur in a desire for its Amend-
ment.— Bill calling a Convention retwned by
the Council of Revision. — Clinfon^s Opinions
on the subject. — Jt Law is passed by which the
call of a Convention is submitted to a popular
'i)ote. — Alterations made in the old Constitution.
— Clinton^ s term of Office is abridged. — He de-
clines to be a Candidate for re-election. — Acci-
dent to his leg. — His first Wife dies. — He visits
the States of Jersey and Ohio. — He visits Penn-
sylvania.— He is examined before a Committee
of the Legislature. — He is removed from his
Office of Canal Commissioner. — Public Indig-
nation in Consequence. — Attempt of the General
Government to tax Vessels navigating the Ca-
qfiaJ., — Clinton is nominated by the Republican
Convention at Utica, and again elected Gov-
ernor.— He marries his second Wife,

The strength of Clinton's opponents in the Le-
gislature placed him, in a short time after his sec-
ond election, in the same position to which he had
brought Jay, namely, in a minority of the counci]
of appointment. At the same time, moderate mei\

248 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of all parties wished to see this obnoxious feature
expunged from the Constitution. There was also
a strong and influential body that desired the
equalization of the elective franchise, which, under
the old Constitution, was confined in the choice of
governor and senators to freeholders alone. There
were others who were satisfied of the inexpedien-
cy of that feature of the old Constitution which
vacated the offices of chancellor and judges when
the incumbents reached the age of sixty years.
Finally, it was believed by many, that the fact of
the judicial officers having in the council of revis-
ion a veto upon the law^s passed by the Legisla-
ture, exposed them to the risk of being tempted,
and thus impaired public confidence in the purity
of the bench. All classes of men therefore united
in a desire that a convention should be called to
amend the Constitution.

The moderate and judicious seem to have de-
sired that the council of appointment should be
continued, to act as the advisers of the govern-
or, not as his co-equals in this branch of execu-
tive authority ; and it cannot be doubted that a
similar provision in relation to the council of re-
vision would have removed the objections to that
body, and rendered it a most valuable part of the
government Experience seems to have proved
since that it would have been better that the ex-
ecutive should have had a right to resort to the

DEWITT CLINTON. 249

opinion of the united wisdom of the bench on
questions of constitutional law, rather than to the
advice of the attorney-general, who can rarely be
independent of a party bias. That judges should
retire from office at an age when, if activity of
body begins to decay, the mind is at its maturity,
seems to be contrary to all natural reason, and re-
verses the practice of all countries.

In respect to the elective franchise the question
is more difficult. Two opinions have been main-
tained with almost equal force : the one holds that
the possession of at least a moderate property is a
test of wisdom and intelligence well suited to be
a standard of the qualifications of an elector, while
the ownership of the soil gives him a personal in-
terest in the stabihty of government and national
prosperity, which he who has no such ties can
never feel ; nor, as it was maintained, could the
vesting of power exclusively in such hands ever
degenerate into an aristocracy, so long as the equal
division of property among all the children of the
same parents was maintained both by law and
custom, and all possibility of creating entails was
prevented. This opinion has been stigmatized as
aristocratic, but has been defended as the true
principle of freedom, and in its favour the exam-
ple of Rome has been adduced, which retained its
republican institutions so long as the comitia cen-
turiafa constituted the sovereignty, but fell first

250 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

into anarchy, and finally into a military despotism,
as soon as the distinctions arising from taxable
property, which formed the basis of that mode of
voting, were abolished.

On the other hand, it has been maintained, that
as it is the very principle of American liberty
that all men are born free and equal, any distinc-
tion in the right of voting is in opposition to it.
Clinton, who, during his whole political course,
placed the firmest reliance upon the virtue and
intelligence of the people, was of the latter opin-
ion, although it does not appear that he carried
his views of the extension of the franchise to the
length it has now reached. To the will of the
public, expressed in their primary assemblies, he
always appealed as the tribunal of last resort on
political questions; and, next to the canal, the dar-
ling object of his later years was to bring the
choice of electors of president immediately to the
people.

In the general wish that the Constitution should
be amended, Clinton participated, and the call of
a convention for the purpose was recommended by
him in his message. The Legislature, although
in opposition to him, was obedient to the popular
will, and a law directing the election of delegates
to a convention was passed. In passing this law,
the Legislature virtually assumed the sovereign
power to be vested in it, and the convention

t)EWlTT CLINTON. 251

would have acted under an authority having its
source in the Senate and House of Assembly. In
this viev;^ of the subject Clinton did not concur.
He conceived that the sovereignty resided of
right in the people, convened in their primary
assemblies. When the bill, as passed by the Le-
gislature, came before the council of revision, he
pointed out this defect in its principle, and by his
casting vote it vfQ.s returned to the Legislature.
Here it was recommitted, and a new law framed,
by which the question whether a convention should
be called was submitted to a direct vote at the
popular elections.

This vote was in the affirmative by a large ma-
jority, and a convention was in consequence chosen,
which assembled at Albany. The political opponents
of Clinton took advantage of his act in the coun-
cil of revision to represent him as opposed to all
change ; and although, to all appearance, but little
party spirit was manifested in the election of dele-
gates, it was adroitly managed in such manner
that but few of his immediate friends were chosen.

The convention numbered a great many per-
sons who had been distinguished in the party war-
fare of the state, and several who had held impor-
tant public stations during the prevalence as well
of the federal, as of the democratic party. Be-
tween these it was supposed that a broad distinc-
tion existed in relation to the limit of the right

252 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of suffrage. The federal party, it was believed,
held the doctrine of the Enghsh republicans, and
which had been the basis of the arguments by
which the Anaerican Re^'olution was justified 5
namely, that taxation and representation should
be coextensive. It was, in consequence, expected
that the members of the convention who had be-
longed to this party would have opposed any far-
ther extension of the right of suffrage in the elec-
tion of members of Assembly, and been reluctant
to do away with the freehold qualification in the
voters for governor and senators.

The democratic party, on the other hand, had
secured its ascendency by avowed obedience to the
popular will, and an effort on its part to deprive
the freeholders of their peculiar privileges was to
have been expected.

To the surprise of those who w^ere not acquaint-
ed with the secret springs of action, all parties ex-
hibited an anxiety to outbid each other for popu-
larity, by extending the right of voting for all
offices to the widest possible hmit. More doubt
and hesitation was shown at first by the old repub-
licans than by those who had been counted as fed-
eralists ; but the desire of appearing on the popu-
lar side prevailed with all, and no requisite was
demanded in any voter except citizenship and res-
idence.

The security of the institutions of the State of

DEWITT CLINTON. 253

New-York, and of the life, liberty, and property
of its inhabitants, must henceforth depend on the
virtue and intelligence of a majority of its voters.
It is not to be disguised, that many anxious pa-
triots entertain forebodings that the experiment has
been extended too far, and may not be successful.
No, doubt need be entertained of the permanence
of the mere forms of republican institutions, but
their fears point to a diminution in the sanctity of
property, and of security for persons who may be-
come obnoxious to popular displeasure from vio-
lence unauthorized by law. Such gloomy forebo-
dings are, however, founded on a belief that the
new classes of voters are ignorant and vicious;
against which we have a sure remedy in the uni-
versal extension and beneficial influence of the
common school system.

By the Constitution framed by this convention
the council of appointment was abolished, the right
of nomination being vested in the governor, and
the concurrence of the Senate was rendered ne-
cessary. The council of revision was also abohsh-
ed, and the veto vested in the governor, subject to
a reversal by a vote of two thirds of the members
of both houses. The objectionable feature in rela-
tion to the judges was retained, showing how, in
such instances, party spirit and feelings of individ-
ual dislike may prevail over considerations of pub-
lic good. The chancellor and judges had not

Y

254 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

joined the party in opposition to Clinton, and
there was not sufficient manhness to point them
out directly by allowing their offices to expire on
their reaching the age to which the old Constitu-
tion had limited their term, and ordaining that
their successors should remain on the bench to a
more advanced period of life.

The convention mustered a decided majority of
the opponents of Clinton. In spite of this, the ca-
nal policy, for which he had so long contended,
was triumphant. Clinton's belief in the correct-
ness of the final judgment of the people was jus-
tified ; and those who had on former occasions been
the opponents of the canal, were now compelled,
by public opinion or by their own convictions, to
support its policy. The canal was made inaliena-
ble by any act of the Legislature ; and the fund,
which had before been pledged by law, was now
established more firmly by a clause in the Consti-
tution.

The new Constitution, by changing the day on
which the legal year began from the 4th of July
to the 1st of January, abridged Clinton's term of
office ; and it was believed by many that the de-
sire to remove him had been the real object of this
change.

A new division of parties had arisen, founded
on the claims of diiferent individuals to the presi-
dential chair. Mr. Monroe had undertaken to

DEWITT CLINTON. 255

govern without reference to the ancient divisions
of party, and three candidates for the succession
started from his own cabinet. General Jackson
and Mr. Clay were also named ; and there were
not wanting many persons in other states who
would gladly have given their suffrages for Clin-
ton himself. In the State of New- York, Messrs.
Crawford and Adams were the prominent candi-
dates, and parties were formed in support of their
respective pretensions. With neither of these
would Clinton connect himself, and he would not
appear as a candidate for the office himself. He
therefore resolved not to be a candidate for the
office of governor, which would have required his
uniting himself to one of these parties, or coming
forward as a candidate for the presidency.

The long sway of a party opposed to him in the
Legislature, and the proscription to which all who
avowed themselves his friends were exposed, had
the effect of terrifying all aspirants for political
influence or lucrative offices from his side ; and the
artful policy of his enemies, in adopting his favour-
ite measures, had left him without the power of
joining issue with them in an appeal to the popu-
lar voice. Joseph Yates was elected in his stead,
overcoming a feeble opposition on the part of Sol-
omon Southwick.

In the summer of 1818, Clinton met with an ac-
cident which caused the fracture of his leg. His

256 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

recovery was slow and painful, and he was com-
pelled for some time to use crutches ; nor did he
ever wholly overcome a slight lameness. This in-
jury had an unfavourable effect upon his health,
by rendering him unable any longer to take the
exercises to which he had been accustomed, and
in which he took pleasure. He had been in the
habit of riding much on horseback, and was fond
of field sports ; from both of these he was now
debarred ; and to this change in his habits, from
active to sedentary, may be ascribed the gradual
approach of that disease, which carried him off in
the zenith of his faculties.

This accident was preceded by a severe afflic-
tion in his family, the loss of his wife, who, in
the language of his diary, " retired to another and
better world with characteristic fortitude."

The retirement of Clinton from office did not
cause him to cease from his exertions for the pub-
lic good, but rather extended the sphere of his
beneficial action. If, in his native state, there
were those who doubted the importance of his
agency in creating the canal policy, and others
who, with better knowledge, denied him due hon-
our, he was, in other parts of the Union, fully ap-
preciated ; and those who, with just views of duty,
sought to extend to their own states the benefits
of the policy so successful in New-York, appealed
to his powerful aid.

DEWITT CLINTON. 257

In the State of New- Jersey an old project had
been revived for the construction of the Raritan
and Delaware Canal. The great importance of
this measure, in a national point of view, had been
developed in the report of Mr. Gallatin. At the
same time, a novel and almost unexampled plan
of a canal across the great Atlantic ridge from the
Passaic to the Delaware had been brought for-
ward. The friends of the latter measure request-
ed Clinton to visit the region and inquire into its
practicability. Having satisfied himself that the
means proposed wxre feasible, he drew up a re-
port on the subject, urging that this canal should
be constructed by the state. Some weeks after,
on the invitation of the state authorities, he visited
Trenton. Here he not only enforced by personal
communication the opinion he had already given,
but exhorted the two rival sections of the state to
union, and pointed out the advantages of making
both canals at the expense of the state. In this
instance his enlightened views did not prevail.
The Legislature shrunk from the responsibility of
undertaking both canals, and the partisans of each
were too powerful to allow of the adoption of the
other as a state work. Subsequently, the two en-
terprises have been each intrusted to a chartered
company, and the result of their operations has
justified the prescience of Clinton. Enough has
been done to show that, had the state executed

Y2

258 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

them, both must have been profitable; while to the
companies which have held them, from causes in-
separably connected with the management of
chartered companies, they have yielded no profit.
The Delaware and Raritan Canal has imposed
tolls so high as to exclude all transit of heavy
commodities, while the Morris Canal has, by a
departure from its original plan, and deviations
from the system on which Clinton's opinion of its
feasibility was founded, become so costly, that a
trade as large as was anticipated does not pay an
adequate dividend. The Legislature, too, in order
to encourage capitalists to embark in this project,
endowed the Morris Canal Company with banking
privileges, and these have been so badly managed
as almost to involve it in ruin.

He w^as also invited to visit Ohio. Here his
views of policy prevailed. That state, after de-
liberate inquiry into the practicability of a canal
from Lake Erie to the River Ohio, undertook its
construction ; and to Clinton the high compliment
was assigned, although in no official capacity, and
in the presence of the governor of the state, of
removing the first earth of the excavation. His
journey through Ohio was one continued triumph,
and resembled more the progress of Lafayette
than the travel of any native citizen of however
exalted rank or extended popularity.

In the summer of 1824, Clinton, by invitation,

D E W I T T CLINTON. 259

visited the State of Pennsylvania, for the purpose
of giving the aid of his high authority in the fur-
therance of the system of internal improvements
projected in that state. A want of enterprise and
exertion had hitherto characterized its Legislature,
and it had intrusted to private companies some
of the most important lines of communication
within its limits. In its subsequent awakening to
a sense of the importance of taking the public
works into the hands of the state, a desire to meet
the views of every interest has caused the expan-
sion of the operations over too great a space.
Partial efforts have been made in many places,
and on these an amount of money has been ex-
pended, which, if applied to any single obje('t,
must have yielded adequate returns. These im-
provements do not even pay the interest on their
cost; and, by a want of foresight, no adequate
funds were provided in advance to meet such an
emergency. The example of this great and opu-
lent state, which is at present paralyzed in its ex-
ertions for the want of wise and decided measures,
may serve to show of how great importance it was
to the State of New -York that there was in it one
person possessing sufficient weight and influence
to direct its energies in a more skilful manner.

Clinton seemed born to illustrate in his own
person the fickle character of attachments found-
ed on political considerations. Up to the year

260 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

1812 he had been the idol of the democratic
party in the State of New-York, and had been
their almost unanimous nominee for the office of
president of the United States; but when the in-
fluence of the general government was exerted
against him, all the leading politicians, with rare
exceptions, abandoned him. Nor were they con-
tent with this, but commenced attacks upon him
until he was removed from the mayoralty. His
subsequent elevation to the office of governor was
a spontaneous act of the people, in which politi-
cians by profession had little to do ; but he was at
once surrounded by those who had persecuted him
in his adverse fortunes. The close of his second
term as governor was attended by a similar deser-
tion of political men ; and in the Legislature which
first met under the new Constitution, hardly a man
was to be found bold enough to avow himself the
adherent of his fortunes.

In the succeeding Legislature the case was still
stronger, and to coldness was added direct injury.
He was, in the first place, called before a commit-
tee of the Legislature to be examined on the sub-
ject of the canals. The examination, it is said,
was not conducted with any of the courtesy to
which the rank he had recently held in the state
would have seemed to entitle him. It would ap-
pear to have been intended to afford grounds for
the justification of an act which the leaders of the

DEWITT CLINTON. 261

dominant party had resolved upon, but they fail-
ed in finding any. The act, however, was not,
for that reason, left undone. On the last day of
the session of 1824, a resolution was introduced
into the Senate removing Clinton from his office as
canal commissioner. This resolution was carried
without debate, and with but three dissenting voi-
ces. In the House it prevailed by a vote of more
than two thirds of the members ; no speech was
made in justification or explanation of it, and the
only opposition in words was an eloquent and in-
dignant speech, made on the spur of the occasion
by Cunningham, of Montgomery county, a man
whose honesty of purpose, independence of char-
acter, and promising talent were prematurely lost
to the state.

At the time of this vote Clinton had been for
fourteen years steadily engaged in promoting the
cause of the internal navigation of the state, and,
whether in or out of office, had received no com-
pensation for these services. It seems to have
been believed by the leaders in this unmerited
insult, that Clinton had entirely lost all his popu-
larity, and that it was only necessary to deprive
him of the little influence which the office of ca-
nal commissioner gave him, in order to close his
political career for ever. In both views of the
subject they were mistaken. Clinton, although
to appearance abandoned by all his mere political

262 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

partisans, had lost none of his well-earned popu-
larity with the people at large, and this act of the
Legislature served to call this popularity into ac-
tion. The news of his removal had no sooner
reached the principal towns in the state, than
meetings were called to express the popular in-
dignation at the removal of Clinton from the office
he had so long and so worthily held. In the City
of New-York, not less than ten thousand persons
assembled at the call ; and the proportionate num-
bers were much greater in other places, for the
city still continued to be the seat of his most ac-
tive opponents. Many of these, however, united
in the proceedings, and the chairman of the city
meeting was Colonel Few, who had long been op-
posed to him in politics.

The term of office of Governor Yates was about
to expire, and a convention was assembled to nom-
inate a candidate for the succession. At this con-
vention, Clinton, much to the surprise of those
who had considered him as completely fallen, was
at once proposed as a fit person to be selected.
A discussion arose, which ended in the retirement
of the delegation of the City of New-York and a
few others, amounting in all to twenty members.
After the secession of this party, the nomination
of Clinton was concurred in with absolute una-
nimity.

The overwhelming influence which was brought

DEWITT CLINTON. 263

to bear upon this convention by the popular voice,
arose in a great degree from a correct appreciation
of the value of his services in securing the con-
struction of the canal and the triumph of the pol-
icy of internal improvement. It was also aided
by the strong interest which Clinton took in the
question of the manner of choosing the electors of
president. This had been hitherto done by the
Legislature ; and a strong effort, in which Clinton
aided, was now making to give the choice direct-
ly to the people. Those politicians who, with the
loudest professions of obedience to the popular
will, held the power in their hands through a ma-
jority of the Legislature, were averse to parting
with it, and the contrast between their professions
and acts had no little effect in restoring the influ-
ence of Clinton.

An important question had also arisen in respect
to the navigation of the canal. Its size was such
that the vessels which navigate it fall within the
description of those required to receive licenses
from the custom-houses of the general govern-
ment. Although the administration was in the
hands of those professing an exclusive attachment
to state rights, an attempt was made to extend the
authority of the officers of the customs over the
vessels navigating the canal. As the canal lies
wholly within the limits of a single state, this
attempt could not be justified upon the grant of

264 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

powers to regulate either foreign commerce or that
between the states. To have brought this plan
into operation would have been a gross and un-
warrantable usurpation, and as such it was con-
sidered by all those who had a proper feeling of
the rights of their native state. There was, how-
ever, a moment when it appeared probable that
the attempt to enforce this measure would be suc-
cessful. It therefore became necessary to unite
all the strength which could be collected in op-
position to it. It was seen and felt that Clinton
was the leader under whose direction this opposi-
tion might be most efficiently brought into action,
and that in the office of governor alone he would
have the power necessary to counteract the con-
templated usurpation.

The party which had withdrawn from the con-
vention did not submit quietly to its decisions, but
nominated Colonel Young, the former colleague
of Clinton in the canal board, as a candidate in
opposition to him. His nomination, however, met
with a signal defeat, and Clinton was elected gov-
ernor by a majority over his opponent of upward
of sixteen thousand votes.

We have in this place to speak of Clinton's
second marriage, which occurred before the close
of his second term of service as governor. The
lady whom he chose was Miss Catharine Jones,
the daughter of Dr. Thomas Jones, an eminent

DEWITT CLINTON. 265

physician in the City of New-York. It would ap-
pear, from passages and extracts in his common-
place book, that the propriety of contracting a
second marriage had been a subject of serious re-
flection, and that his judgment was fully satisfied
that the step was an expedient one. Of this esti-
mable lady, who still survives, feehngs of delicacy
will prevent us from saying more.

Z

266 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER XIX.

Sticcess of the Canal Policy. — Silver Vases are
presented to Clinton by the Merchants of Jfew-
York. — He is invited hy Mr. Mams to serve as
Minister to Great Britain, and declines. — Great
Celebration of the opening of the Canal. — JYew
and important Public Works recommended by
Clinton. — His plan of a Board of Public Works.
— Antimasonic Excitement. — Coalition to defeat
Clinton's election as Governor. — He is, notwith-
standing, re-elected.

In conformity with the election of which we have
spoken, Clinton resumed his seat as Governor of
the State of New-York in January, 1825. He
now had it in his power to communicate officially
the triumph of the system of which he had so long
been an advocate. Little more than seven years
had elapsed since the first earth was removed from
the bed of the canal, and it was now approaching
to completion. In the summer of 1823 boats had
passed into the Hudson, and the navigation was
open thence to within a short distance of Buffalo.
The revenues of the canal fund had derived the
increase he had anticipated from the very action
of the canal itself. The two principal items were

DEWITT CLINTON. 267

the salt duties and those on auction sales. The
facilities afforded to the transport of salt had en-
larged the sphere of its consumption, and thus
the quantity manufactured had been increased.
Wealth had been diffused along the line of the
canal, calling for new articles of luxury and util-
ity, while the abundance of the products of which
the City of New-York became the market and the
place of export, was rapidly rendering it the cen-
tral point of the import trade of the Union. The
sales at auction were multiplied from all these
causes, and a larger revenue accrued. The canal
itself, although not completed, nor in the reception
of the trade of the Western Lakes, already yielded
tolls of an unexpected amount. It happened from
all these causes that Clinton had the satisfaction
to announce, in his first message to the Legislature,
that the income of the canal fund, when added to
the tolls, exceeded the interest on the cost of the
canal by nearly four hundred thousand dollars.

A degree of prosperity unexampled, and hard-
ly anticipated by the most sanguine, prevailed
throughout the state. The City of New-York,
which in 1818 had witnessed a decrease in its
population, and a prodigious fall in the value of
property, had now recovered its prosperity, and
was increasing in population and wealth in a ratio
higher than at any former period. The counties
on the banks of the Hudson, and those on Long

268 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Island, which had feared a decay in their agricul-
ture in consequence of the admission of rivals
from the West in the supply of the city, saw these
gloomy anticipations contradicted by experience.
The western parts of the state had been in a man-
ner created by the operation of the canal. The
regions w^hence the transport of the produce to the
Hudson had been equal to its whole value in Al-
bany, were > ow placed almost on equality with
those upon the Hudson. Land to the west of the
Seneca Lake was enh??'^ ced in value fourfold, and
that less remote, if not benefited in as high a ratio,
derived advantages corresponding to its distance.

The mercantile interest in the city, enjoying a
degree of prosperity such as the most sanguine
anticipations had never contempb'- .; '^-cnsidered
Clinton as the prominent cause of the vast increase
of trade which the canal had opened. It was
therefore resolved to take measures for the pur-
pose of signifying to him the high opinion which
was entertained by the merchants ^ his public
services. With this intention a meeting w^as call-
ed, at which it v/as determined that a subscription
should be raised for the purpose of purchasing ar-
ticles of plate, to be presented to Clinton as an
evidence of their gratitude, and to serve as a dura-
ble memorial of the benefits conferred by him
upon the City and the State of New-York.

The subscription was speedily filled up ; and, ir^

DEWITT CLINTON. 269

conformity with the intentions of the meeting, two
large and rich silver vases were procured, and for-
mally presented to Clinton by a committee on be-
half of the merchants. Valuable as w^as the ma-
terial of this present ; much as the workmanship,
remarkable for beauty of design and elaborate ex-
ecution, exceeded the material in cost, the gift
owed its real value to the fact of its being the
symbol of the unanimous approbation of the most
intelligent, enterprising, and public-spirited body
of citizens which could have been collected for
any object whatever. The merchants of New-
York belong to all political parties ; are connect-
ed with every diversity of religious sect ; they are,
besides, divided by variety of interests and occu-
pations, and are actuated by strong feelings of
rivalry. On no other occasion have they ever
been united in an unanimous expression of opin-
ion ; and the proverbial acuteness with which they
discern matters effecting their pecuniary interests,
renders this spontaneous tribute to the merits and
services of Clinton a compliment such as has been
paid to no other American statesman.

After his death, these vases, under the law of
the equal distribution of inheritances, were, in the
absence of a will, necessarily sold. At the sale
they were purchased by a new subscription, and
presented to his oldest surviving son. It is in
instances of this sort that the law abolishing all

Z2

270 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

entailment seems hard and impolitic. It might have
gratified the donors to know that the gift would
never be alienated from the family of Clinton, and
the gift would have been enhanced in value to him.
Clinton had, as we have seen, avoided enga-
ging himself with the adherents of either of the
candidates for the presidency in the place of Mr.
Monroe. The most prominent of these had been
members of the cabinet of that gentleman, and the
decided opposition which he had shown to Chn-
ton's interests in New- York must have prevented
him from having any very friendly feeling towards
them. On the withdrawal of Mr. Crawford, the
party which had supported him turned their views
towards General Jackson. To him alone of all
the candidates could Chnton have any personal
likino-. The friends of Crawford had been the
agents in his removal from the office of canal com-
missioner, while the very men who had been most
influential in obtaining for Adams the electoral
vote of New-York were those who had seceded
from the convention by which Clinton was nom-
inated for governor. Jackson, on the other hand,
had rebuked, in the very seat of the power of the
personal opponents of Clinton, the ingratitude of
the state towards its most useful and distinguished
citizen. Still it was impossible that Clinton could
act with the party which, on the withdrawal of
Crawford, transferred their support to Jackson.

DEWITT CLINTON. 271

Hence, at his election as governor, he was free
from all connexion with the friends of either of
the candidates for the presidency.

The vote of the electoral colleges was not de-
cisive ; the choice of president therefore devolved
upon the House of Representatives, and Mr. Ad-
ams was elected. This gentleman was no sooner
made aware of his success, than he determined to
offer to Clinton the appointment of minister to
England. The offer was accordingly made, but
was, without hesitation, declined by the latter. In
his refusal, Clinton assigns as the principal reason,
the obligation he was under to the citizens of his
native state, who had so recently and by so large
a majority elected him to the chief magistracy.
There is no need of searching for other motives,
nor is it probable that any other influenced him at
the moment. It is obvious, however, that Clinton
would have been brought, by the acceptance of
the ofhce, into political communion with many
who had been his opponents from personal enmi-
ty as well as upon political grounds. A few
months' experience satisfied him in confirmation of
the correctness of his decision, that Mr. Adams
could not hope for a re-election, and that all who
had become connected with him must share in his
downfall.

The office of Governor of the State of New-
York held out to Clinton, at the moment, induce-

272 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ments for contmuance in it which no temptation
in any other direction could probably have over-
come. The canal, to which so much of his atten-
tion had been devoted, and in which he had taken
so lively an interest, was approaching its comple-
tion ; and to preside as chief magistrate at the cel-
ebration of the entire opening of that work, into
which he, as senior commissioner, had put the first
spade, was a triumph such as few men have been
able to enjoy. As this great undertaking ap-
proached its conclusion, preparations were made
along its whole extent for public rejoicings ; nor
were such preparations confined to the banks of
the canal, but extended to the shores of the Hud-
son and the City of New-York. The water of
' Lake Erie was admitted into the canal on the
26th October, 1826, and the interesting fact was
announced by signal cannon, which conveyed the
joyful tidings in a few minutes to the beach of
the ocean. Immediately thereafter, a flotilla set
out from the harbour of Buffalo, conveying the
ffovernor, the canal commissioners, and numerous
distinguished persons, and bearing the symbolic
representation of the lake to be wedded to the
deity of the ocean. At Albany the flotilla was
increased by an escort of steamboats, and, on en-
tering the bounds of the City of New-York, the
corporation and public authorities joined in the
aquatic procession by which the water of the

DEWITT CLINTON. 273

lake was borne to be mingled with the tide of the
sea.

Our country has never witnessed any ceremony
accompanied by such pomp, nor one which dif-
fused in every breast such unmingled feelings of
gratification. All feelings of party spirit were
suspended, and even the bitterness of personal
animosity was for a monent neutralized. Clinton
was received at every place as the chief instru-
ment of the blessings which had already been ex-
perienced, but which all felt to be the mere prel-
ude of what were to follow j and, while thousands
had aided in promoting the great design, no whis-
per was heard to indicate that he had any rival in
the magnitude of his exertions or the amount of
his services.

A mind of ordinary character might have been
content with the glory thus acquired; one who
had attained such a height of reputation without
deserving it, might have feared to venture it by
proposing new measures of the same description ;
while devotion to the cause of the Erie Canal
might have had the effect of rendering even clear-
sighted persons blind to the value of other plans
of internal improvement. Clinton was influenced
by no such feelings. Even before the canal was
completed, and in the very act of seating himself
in the gubernatorial chair, he pointed out to the
Legislature new channels of internal coramunica-

274 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

tion, as likely to be new sources of wealth to the
state.

The counties which lie on the right bank of the
St. Lawrence are naturally rich and fertile, but,
in consequence of the difficulty of communication,
land situated in them has rather fallen than risen in
value since the internal improvements of the state
were begun, and the population has shown a dis-
position to remove to more accessible regions. A
part of this country might be brought into com-
munication with the Erie Canal by means of a
canal from the valley of the Black River to that
of the Mohawk. This, however, would be costly,
in consequence of the height of the summit level,
unless some cheaper mode than that of locks could
be introduced for overcoming it. The mountains
which occupy so great a portion of the north of
the state, fall away about the 45th degree of lat-
itude, and it is obvious that a canal from the St.
Lawrence to Lake Champlain is practicable. This
would open the whole of this region, and render it
accessible to commerce. Clinton recommended
this line of communication to the notice of the Le-
gislature ; and, as the best route would enter partly
into the British territory, suggests the propriety of
endeavouring to obtain permission to make the
canal from the government of Great Britain, or of
negotiating an exchange for territory in some oth-
er region. Nothing has been done towards the

DEWITT CLINTON. 275

promotion of this project, and it will rest among
those instances in which local interests have tri-
umphed over the public good.

It had been among the points of policy which
Clinton had most strenuously supported, that the
communication with Lake Ontario should be avoid-
ed. When, however, the completion of the direct
route to Lake Erie was assured, an important re-
gion on that lake seemed to demand a communica-
tion with the great canal. Clinton entered warm-
ly into the support of this project, and made it the
subject of a recommendation to the Legislature.

It has been seen that an imperfect navigation,
interrupted by portages, had connected the Cayu-
ga and Seneca Lakes with the Mohawk, but from
the Erie Canal no communication to those lakes
had been provided. Canandaigua Lake, which
had been before reached by no navigation, al-
though of less extent, lies also in the heart of a
rich country. The connexion of these three lakes
with the Erie Canal, appeared to Clinton to be an
object of great importance, and the consideration
of this subject w^as, in consequence, urged upon
the Legislature.

Crooked Lake empties its waters into the Sene-
ca Lake, and from the head of the former a long
portage had afforded access to the Tioga or Che-
mung Branch of the Susquehanna. It appeared
that a canal was practicable in this direction, and

276 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

this seemed to Clinton of sufficient importance to
be made one of the subjects of his first message
to the Legislature.

Of these projected canals, those which join the
Seneca and Cayuga Lakes to the Erie Canal have
been constructed, in conformity with Clinton's rec-
ommendations, as has that from the Seneca Lake
to the Chemung. Those who have entertained
less liberal views of the policy of the state in re-
spect to internal improvements, have not failed to
remark, that the tolls on these canals have not
met the interest on their cost. It seems, however,
to have been demonstrated, that the state is no
loser j for, although the receipts collected on the
lines of these canals fall short of this object, it is
to be considered that, if they be added to the tolls
accruing to the Erie Canal from vessels which en-
ter it from these lateral navigations, the sum will
be more than sufficient to meet the interest on the
cost of these public works. Even did they not
suffice for this purpose, an amount of wealth has
been created by these canals which far exceeds
their whole cost.

Besides these subjects of general interest, Clin-
ton did not refuse to devote his attention to mat-
ters merely local. Among the most important of
these was the project for supplying the City of
New-York with water. The necessity of some
provision for this purpose was also pressed upon

DEW ITT CLINTON. 277

the Legislature in his first message. This recom-
mendation, although not acted upon at that time,
was the first step towards that grant of additional
powers to the corporation of New- York, which
has led to the execution of the plan of bringing
water from near the sources of the Croton for the
supply of the teeming population of that city.

The same message contains a recommendation
that a board of public works should be " constitu-
ted, with authority to consider and report on all
subjects relative to the establishment of communi-
cations by land and water, by roads, railways,
bridges, canals, and water-courses, with a general
superintending power over their construction."
In relation to this plan he remarks, " The field of
operation, and the harvest of honour and profit, are
unbounded : and if our resources are wisely ap-
plied and forcibly directed, all proper demands for
important avenues of communication may be an-
swered in due time and in proper extent." No
one can look upon the course which events have
taken since his decease without being satisfied of
the wisdom of this recommendation, and of the
great advantage the state would have derived from
a board exercising a superintendence over all
plans of improvement, in the place of one confi-
ned in its operations to the Erie and Champlain
Canals.

The year 1825 was marked by an incident

Aa

278 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

which produced a change in the aspect of parties,
and for a time set at defiance the calculations of
the most experienced politicians.

A person of the name of Morgan, residing at
Batavia, in Genesee county, had undertaken to
publish the secrets of freemasonry. This had been
resented by some over-zealous brethren of the craft,
and the obnoxious party was abducted, nay, in all
probability, murdered. For this act there can be
no possible defence. However guilty, in a moral
sense, may have been the individual who had vio-
lated the solemn oaths by which it is said the ad-
mission to this fraternity is guarded, it was not a
crime in the eye of the law ; and, in a well-regu-
lated community, the right of inflicting punishment
even for legal offences is not to be exercised by in-
dividuals or associations.

Many have presumed, from the vengeance with
which Morgan's publication was visited, that he
had revealed at least a part of the treasured secrets
of masonry ; and the only actual gTOund of fear to
which that association was subjected, is to be found
in the puerile character of the ceremonies it unfolds.
They are, in truth, unmeaning in themselves, and
mere contTivances to prevent the admission of
the uninitiated, by requiring the remembrance of
words, signals, and ceremonies, which could not
easily be compassed or imitated by those who had
not received the key. It is, however, said by

DEWITT CLINTON. 279

some, that this association, deriving its origin from
the architects of those magnificent temples which
illustrated the ages called dark, possesses many
noble and sublime traditions ; that it imbodies the
mystic knowledge of the Templars, and a tradition-
ary learning, whose amount may be estimated from
the contrast which the skill and science displayed
in those edifices exhibits, when compared wdth
the ignorance and barbarism of the ages when
they were erected. Others claim for it a still
more ancient origin, and trace it to the builders of
the temples of Egypt, which remain, after the
lapse of forty centuries, to attest the genius and
talent of their founders.

Whatever be its origin, masonry has, beyond a
doubt, been applied to some of the noblest purpo-
ses, but may readily be perverted to those of a
criminal or dangerous character. In our Revolu-
tionary struggle, its lodges were the places in
which patriots and statesmen matured schemes of
resistance to British powder ,* and the calamities of
war w^ere in more than one instance relieved by
the feeling of masonic ties. On the Continent of
Europe they have been the receptacle of the aspi-
rants for release from the arbitrary power of civil
rulers and the sanguinary tyranny of a persecuting
church. The character of a freemason had thus
become, in Italy, Austria, and Spain, a mark for ,.
proscription. In Mexico, the two rites of York

280 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

and Scotland have been made the rallying-points
of parties in the state. In the United States, initi-
ation to masonry has, to all appearance, been con-
ducive to the advancement of political men ; but,
as it is accessible to both parties, it does not ap-
pear to have influenced the triumphs or defeats of
either.

It is one of the peculiarities of this mysterious
transaction, that there is little or nothing contain-
ed in the work of Morgan which had not pre-
viously been published in England towards the
close of the last century, without exciting remark.
Many have, in consequence, imagined that his
sole object was to make money by the sale of a
book, which might, to the uninitiated, appear to be
a revelation of the object of their curiosity, while
it w^as, in truth, no breach of the oath of secrecy.

Clinton had become a freemason at an early
age, and had been elected finally to the highest
offices of the association. In this capacity, it ap-
pears from his correspondence, that he was repeat-
edly applied to for advice as to the obligation of
the masonic engagement. Replies to such appli-
cations occur in his letter-book long before the ex-
citement caused by the disappearance of Morgan
arose. They are of uniform tenour, and declare
the masonic covenant to be inferior in obligation to
the duties of the man, the citizen, and the Chris-

DEWITT CLINTON. 281

tian, to which, if found in opposition, it, in his
opinion, ought in all respects to yield.

The abduction and probable murder of Morgan
caused an excitement which can only be regarded at
the present day as a passionate dream. It was not
directed against the individuals who had been in-
strumental in the unhallowed act alone, but ao-ainst
all the members^ of the society, and was seized
upon by political aspirants as a means of bringing
them into notice and raising them to power. To
the party thus formed Clinton was necessarily ob-
noxious, from the lofty station he held in the broth-
erhood. He had, in consequence, a most difficult
part to play ; for, while his duty as the chief magis-
trate of the state called upon him to take meas-
ures for the discovery and apprehension of the of-
fenders, the sweeping nature of the denunciations,
and the hostile partisan spirit of which they were
the expression, w^ere offensive to him as a man, and
injurious to hira as a politician. He did not, how-
ever, falter in the strict fulfilment of his duties ; eve-
ry power of his mind, every prerogative he pos-
sessed as governor, were called into action for the
purpose of bringing the offenders to justice ; and
the anxiety he felt that the supremacy of the law
should be vindicated, seems to have pressed upon
his already declining health. On the other hand,
he could not avoid expressing his surprise, that the
unauthorized and disavowed acts of a few ill-judg-

A a2

282 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ing persons should be made the grounds of pro-
scription against all the members of the masonic
fraternity.

The sheriff of one of the frontier counties was
accused of participation in the abduction of Mor-
gan. The governor forthwith propounded to him
a series of written interrogatories relative to his
agency in the transaction, and, on his refusal to
answer, issued a proclamation removing him from
office. This person, it is to be recollected, was his
steadfast friend and political supporter; but he
would not allow any personal considerations to
weigh against the public interest.

In an interview which the removed sheriff
sought, he said, " Strong as is my attachment to
you, I will, if you are guilty, exert myself to have
you punished to the utmost extent of the laws."
To which the trembling culprit replied, in faltering
tones, " I have done nothing worthy of chains or
death."

It is to be feared that this is the last instance of
such stern political virtue. The politicians of the
present day, far from emulating the example of the
elder Brutus, seem to be willing to screen the crim-
inal acts of their adherents ; and it is more than
insinuated, that party devotion has been accepted
as an excuse for the faithful discharge of the du-
ties of office, and served as a screen for actual
malversations.

DEWITT CLINTON. 283

The formation of a political party upon the ma-
sonic question, not only in the State of New- York,
but in those of Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New-
Jersey, is not an isolated instance of the avidity
with which political aspirants seek out any inci-
dent on which to ground partisan agitation. It is,
however, of all that have been thus chosen, per-
haps the most singular, and the least promising to
lead to any of the desired results. The excitement
which naturally prevailed in the immediate neigh-
bourhood where the crime was committed, was
not of the sort that could be propagated to a great
distance ; and those who, without feeling it, un-
dertook to spread it from motives of cool calcula-
tion, were grievously disappointed, for the diversion
it caused in the array of parties became the sure
means of confirming the power of their adversaries.

When Clinton became a candidate for re-elec-
tion in 1826, the fact of his being a mason was
made use of to diminish his popularity. This ar-
gument had its most powerful effect in the very
region where his greatest strength lay ; namely, in
the part of the state west of the Cayuga Lake.
A formidable coalition was also formed against
him from materials to all appearance the most dis-
cordant The old supporters of Mr. Crawford as
a candidate for the presidency were leagued with
the adherents of the existing administration, and to
the latter were added many of the friends of Mr.

284 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Clay. The influence of the custom-house and
that of the canal commissioners were called into
action to defeat the election of Clinton. Judge
Rochester was held up by this coalition as a can-
didate for the office of governor. The opponents
of Chnton were unable to make any impression on
his well-merited popularity with the people ; but
that very popularity was the cause of an over-con-
fidence on the part of his friends. From these
causes the vote was so far diminished from that of
the previous election, that it was estimated that
from twenty to thirty thousand voters did not
put in their ballots ; and all of these were persons
who, had they voted, would have voted for Clinton.
In spite of this remissness on the part of his friends,
he was re-elected by a majority of upward of four
thousand.

DEWITT CLINTON. 285

CHAPTER XX.

Clinton^s views of Religicms Worship, — His Ser^
vices to the Presbyterian Education and Bible
Societies. — His occasional Addresses . — Gi'eat
change in the Relations of Parties. — Clinton
recommends the Road through the Southwest-
em tier of Counties. — His Illness and Death. —
Political Reflections. — Description of Clinton^s
Person, and Remarks on his Character. — Illus-
trations of the importance of his Services in
promoting the Canal Policy of the State.

Clinton's early education had been strictly re-
ligious. The habits of family worship and cate-
chetical instruction which the first American set-
tler of the race had brought from the land of his
forefathers, w^ere maintained by General James
Clinton. Their faith was, as we have seen, that
of the Presbyterian Church. In the excitement of
parties growing out of the French Revolution,
many of those who were in favour of the alhance
of the United States with France, and of the dem-
ocratic party in general, either openly avowed
principles of infidelity, or silently gave up the
forms of attendance upon Christian worship. In
this respect the example of Jefferson was perni- *

286 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

cious, for his opposition to an established church
seems to have carried him to the opposite extreme
of discountenancing all public expression of reli-
gious feeling. In spite of the intimate political
connexion of the Clintons with Jefferson, they
were not tainted either with the feelings of luke-
warmness or the errors of infidelity. Chnton's
alliance with a Quaker family in the early part
of his life, may have rendered him less tenacious
of the rites which other Christian sects insist upon,
and which that denomination has rejected ; but of
the essentials of religion he was, even when press-
ed by political care and personal anxieties, a reg-
ular and conscientious observer. While holding
the office of mayor, his punctual attendance with
his family on the public services of the Presbyte-
rian Church not only marked his own belief, but
served as an example to others. With the vener-
able Dr. Rodgers, the senior pastor of the associa-
ted cono;reo-ations of that denomination, and with
the Rev. Dr. Miller, one of his colleagues, he was
in habits of close and familiar intimacy j and the
adhesion of these pious and exemplary men to the
political party to which Clinton belonged, served
as a complete refutation of the opinion which
united the democratic cause with the impious
principles of the French Jacobins.

On his removal to Albany, the same attention
to the external forms of religion was manifest,

DEWITT CLINTON. 287

and he became a communicant of the Presbyteri-
an Church. In the conflict of rival creeds, the
several sects must look to the influence and char-
acter of their lay members as the proof of the be-
nign influence of their tenets, and as the temporal
support of their principles. The Presbyterian
Church, in consequence, prided itself, at least as
much as such pride in spiritual matters is war-
ranted, in the possession of Clinton as a member,
and he, in return, rendered it important services.

Of the numerous and munificent charities of the
Presbyterian Church, that which is intended to pro-
vide for the education of poor and pious young
men for its ministry is perhaps the most benefi-
cial in its influences. In the ever-growing popu-
lation of our country, the means of religious in-
struction have in general been behind the increase
of numbers, and always in arrear of the exten-
sion of our settlements. The Presbyterian Church,
holding that the days of inspiration are past, makes
a sound education, and proficiency in human knowl-
edge, preliminaries to the reception of its ordina-
tion. In this it has acted with temporal wisdom,
as well as with sound views of the spiritual benefit
of its members. Nothing is so likely to bring re-
ligion into contempt as ignorance on the part of
those who assume to be its teachers. Zeal ^vith-
out knowledge is almost certain to run into fanat-
ical excess ; and the exposition of Christian doc-

288 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

trine requires, in the absence of the supernatural
gifts which distinguished the early age of the
church, no small extent of classical learning.
The rapid improvements of science are continually
renewing the question how far its discoveries are
consistent with the real truths of revelation. An-
tiquated interpretations of texts have been found-
ed on ancient theories in physics, which modern
improvements have exploded. The scoffer has
taken advantage of such apparent contradiction,
and has applied it to the propagation of infidel
doctrines. The churchman who shall neglect to
become acquainted with scientific principles, and
to watch the progress of physical knowledge,
may, in the arguments which the unlimited free-
dom of discussion that the institutions of our coun-
try so wisely and fortunately admit of, become
involved in a dilemma which, to the uninformed
and unrefliecting, may be the foundation of infidel
opinions. All are aware of the injury which was
done to the Christian belief of many anxious in-
quirers, by the pertinacious opposition of over-
zealous churchmen to the discoveries of geology,
which, although for a time rejected by them, are
supported by such in-efragable evidence, that no
one who inquires can possibly refuse his assent.

It is also of vast importance that a large pro-
portion of the teachers of religion should be taken
firom among those in moderate circiunstances, or

DEWITT CLINTON. 289

even in poverty. The habits of those who are
reared among the more opulent classes of society,
particularly when united with those formed in
scholastic institutions, are a bad preparation for
the hardships and privations of a frontier settle-
ment ; while the spiritual welfare of the people is
generally best promoted by a pastor who can en-
ter into the feelings and unite in the society of his
parishioners.

Of the Education Society, founded to promote
such objects in the Presbyterian Church, Clinton
was a valuable and useful member, and held for
several years the office of vice-president.

While he thus manifested his preference for the
form of worship preferred by his forefathers, he
was influenced by no feelings of sectarian bigotry.
The mere forms of worship, and even dilTerences
in tenets, he regarded as unimportant, so far as the
public was concerned, provided the religion pro-
fessed produced its proper influence on the life and
morals.

Of the institutions of human origin, that which
has tended in the highest degree to extend the
knowledge of the Christian faith in distant lands,
and to enlarge its influence in our own, is the
Bible Society. Of this inestimable institution
Clinton was one of the first officers, and held for
some years previous to his death the office of a
vice-president

Bb

290 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

In addition to his numerous reports on subjects
of national interest, his speeches to the Legisla-
ture, and the many laws of which he furnished the
draughts, Clinton was, as we have seen, a distin-
guished writer on scientific subjects. He also
wrote and delivered many occasional addresses.
Of these we may cite, in high terms of commenda-
tion, his eulogy on Fulton and Livingston, and his
orations before the alumni of Columbia and Union
Colleges. These addresses form, as has been well
remarked, the most peculiar feature of American
literature, from their vast number and general
ability. In accepting the invitations to deliver
such addresses, Clinton was brought into direct
contrast, not with the politicians and statesmen
so much as with the most eminent literary and
scientific men of the age and country. It is
enough for his reputation to say that he did not
suffer in his character as a writer by this com-
parison.

Clinton's accession to the office of governor by
re-election in 1827 was attended with a most sin-
gular revolution among politicians. His ancient
opponents had been divided into two parties, one
of which, after having supported Mr. Crawford as
a candidate for the presidency, had united with
the friends of General Jackson ; the other sustain-
ed the policy of the administration of Mr. Adams.
Chnton had felt a preference for General Jackson,

DEWITT CLINTON. 291

although he had taken no active part in the elec-
tion, which terminated in the choice of Mr. Adams.
The acts of the office-holders of the general gov-
ernment and of the personal friends of Mr. Ad-
ams left him no alternative but to avow his pref-
erence, and he was thus placed in the position of
a leader, and the most prominent personage of a
party which was, in a great measure, made up of
his most constant and bitter opponents. On the
other hand, the masonic question had resulted in the
organization of a party, many of whose members
were drawn from among the most steady support-
ers of his policy, which was opposed to the elec-
tion of Jackson.

The triumph which speedily followed in the
election of General Jackson to the presidency, ap-
peared to open new views of ambition to Clinton.
It was generally believed that the new president
would have called him to a distinguished position
in his cabinet, and that Chnton would not, on this
occasion, have declined the invitation. In this
station he would have been placed as the most
prominent candidate for the succession. 7'his new
opportunity for the exercise of his talents in the
services of his country was not vouchsafed him.
It might be a matter of curious speculation to
conjecture how far the acceptance by Clinton to
a place in the cabinet would have influenced the
course of General Jackson's administration; and

292 AMERICAN BIOOKAPHT.

how long two men, equally determined in the sup-
port of the measures they considered to be proper,
could have remained in amicable relations. It can
now he seen that many of the measures oi Gen-
eral Jackson's administration were in opposition
to the avowed opinions of Clinton, while m others
he would have cordially united.

He would probably, also, have striven to moder-
ate the excessive zeal by which principles m them-
selves correct were carried by that energetic man
beyond the verge of expediency ; and there can
be little doubt that he would have been able to
exercise an influence for good, which was po^ess-
ed by none of his subsequent advisers. _ Such
speculations are, however, futile ; for it is now
known that he had determined to dechne office
under the new administration, not, as he said, from
any want of regard to General Jackson, but be-
cause he considered his station as governor of
New-York by the election of the people more
honourable than any appointment in the gift of

the general government. ^ . , ^ • iro?

Ctinton's message to the Legislature m 1827
contains the announcement of the final and com-
plete triumph of the canal pohcy of he state
He had the gratification to announce that the tolls
of the preceding year had amounted to seven hun-
dred and seventy thousand dollars, or to near^
twice the amount of the interest on the debt con-

DEWITT CLINTON. 29b

tracted for the construction of the canals; while
the whole revenue of the fund amounted to up-
ward of a million. With this decided proof of
the success of internal improvements conducted on
the part of the state, Clinton presses upon the Le-
gislature the propriety of aiding in other under-
takings, and, in some instances, of assuming them
for the public account. He more particularly re-
fers to the projected road through the southwestern
tier of counties. In respect to this, he declares
that he is willing to encounter his full share of the
responsibility of the measure he recommends.

Among other important points in this message,
he recommends corrections in the criminal code,
and gives instances where it is of an oppressive
and unjust character, as well as unequal in its op-
eration.

Of these recommendations, that in relation to
the road through the southwestern counties is the
most important. Investigations held subsequently,
and the improvements made in the construction
of railroads, have satisfied the parties interested in
this improvement that it can be better eifected by
means of a railway than by a common road. In
this view of the subject Clinton would in all
probability have concurred ; and there can be no
doubt that he would have urged with all his in-
fluence the construction of this railroad by the

state. The Legislature has been of a different

Bb2

294 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

opinion, and the construction of the road has been
intrusted to an incorporated company. All the
evils which Clinton anticipated from this act have
followed. The probable profits are not sufficient
to attract a sufficient amount of capital ; the stock,
although subscribed, has not been paid up ; and the
project must either be abandoned, or the state must
assume the responsibiUty of constructing it.

In the summer of 1827 Clinton made a tour
through Connecticut, and parts of the states of
New-Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. He
was received throughout not only with the distinc-
tion due to his rank as governor of the State of
New-York, but with the enthusiasm excited by his
services in the cause of internal improvement.
While it was impossible that any feeling could
exist in these states at all approaching to the re-
gard and gratitude with which he was regarded
by many of the citizens of New-York, he, on the
other hand, was spared the pain of meeting those
who looked upon him as an obstacle to their plans
of partisan aggrandizement. His journey was
therefore attended with unmingled feelings of

gratification.

Towards the close of the same year Clinton
was attacked by a disorder to all appearance
slight. It, however, resisted all the efforts of med-
icine, and finally deprived him of life. In conse-
quence of the incapacity for taking the quantity

DEWITT CLINTON. 295

of exercise to which he had been previously ac-
customed, his hfe had become in a great measure
sedentary, and his constitution no longer possessed
the power of throwing off the causes which might
produce disease. The form of a mere cold, which
the disorder at first assumed, appeared to furnish
no cause for anxiety ; but it pressed upon him by
slow and insidious steps. The powers of his mind
hardly appear to have been affected; and, while
he sustained some feelings of bodily uneasiness, he
was yet able to apply himself to his official duties.
Among the very last events of his life is a letter
addressed to one of the circuit judges, in reference
to an act that came properly within his cognizance
as governor, which is distinguished by all the
clearness and ability of his most vigorous days.

The disorder took the form of a dropsy of the
chest, affecting in an especial degree the heart
and lungs. His death was without warning, and
while his friends anticipated no immediate danger.
It took place on the 11th of February, 1828, in
the presence of his eldest son, who acted as his
private secretary. He had taken a drive in the
morning, visited the Capitol, and transacted busi-
ness as usual. In the afternoon he wrote up his
diary, and perused all the letters received by the
evening mails, and was thus engaged until within
a few minutes of his death.

Although his danger was not feared by his fam-

296 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ily, he himself was fully aware of the approach
of his last hour. His friend Dr. Hosack, who,
while he resided in New-York, had been his phy-
sician, visited him in Albany, and felt it his duty
to communicate how precarious his position was,
and that his disease must soon terminate fatally.
Sustained by a well-founded religious belief, and
the consciousness of a well-spent life, he replied
that he " was not afraid to die," and the porten-
tous announcement produced no apparent change
in his cheerfulness, or alteration in his attention to
the public business.

His countenance underwent no change in death ;
there was no struggle or convulsion ; the colour
of his cheeks was unchanged ; and his departure
was as quiet as if he had dropped asleep.

The death of no person ever produced a greater
and more general expression of sorrow through-
out the whole state, and in a great portion of the
Union.

The feelings of party animosity, which had pur-
sued him through life, and which had not altogeth-
er abated, ceased at once. All classes, ranks, and
factions joined in deploring his loss, at the mo-
ment when his services were as much needed as
they had ever been, and when he appeared to be
more than ever capable of rendering them. The
citizens, in public meetings in all the cities of the
state J the Legislature, which was in session at the

DEWITT CLINTON. 297

time, and the municipal corporations, united in the
expression of a heartfelt sorrow.

The history of Clinton imbodies that of the par-
ties which have agitated the State of New-York
from the close of the war of the Revolution. The
existence of two opposing factions seems to be in-
separable from the nature of a free government, and
their balance may be almost essential to its exist-
ence. Furious as have been the contests in words,
and inveterate as have been the personal hostili-
ties that have in some cases been generated, it is
a favourable augury for the stability of our insti-
tutions, that, since the adoption of the federal Con-
stitution, no question has been agitated having any
real bearing upon the great principles on which
the government is founded. The long contest of
the federal and democratic parties was grounded
in a great degree upon foreign policy, however
loudly the one party was charged with maintain-
ing aristocratic, and the other of a tendency to dis-
organizing principles. Since that time, personal
preferences, and the contest for places of emolu-
ment, have been, in general, the springs of political
action. It has thus happened, that, from the mo-
ment the old federal party fell to pieces, the dis-
tinctions of party have ceased ; and the same men
have been seen alternately caressed and proscribed
by the coalition calling themselves the old dem-
ocratic party. It has been no agreeable task to

298 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

hunt up the records of poUtical changes. CUnton
was by them made, as has been seen, alternately
the idol and the proscribed of the dominant party ;
and in it have figured his ancient federal opponents,
as well as his original democratic alhes. For him-
self, he was separated at an early period from the
mass of politicians, who pursue their vocation prin-
cipally for the purpose of their own aggrandize-
ment. One favourite object, the improvement of
the internal navigation of the state, furnished him
with a mark for his aspirations which distinguish-
ed him from the vulgar herds of faction. No man
was a warmer and more active partisan than him-
self ; but his most violent denunciations of his op-
ponents had one redeeming quality — they were in-
tended to aid in the triumph of the policy whence
the state has received so much benefit.

In the warmth of his political feelings he not un-
frequently committed the mistake of supposing those
who opposed him from personal feelings, or in the
hope of acquiring ascendency from his downfall,
to be influenced by motives of less creditable de-
scription; while, on the other hand, he in some
instances overrated the capacity of those who re-
mained his steadfast friends both in good and evil
report. The warmth of his temperament, which
made him a strenuous friend, or an active but
generous enemy, rendered him at times the advo-
cate of those who little merited his support, and

DEWITT CLINTON. 299

placed him in active opposition to some who, from
similarity of views on the great question of inter-
nal improvement, were fitted to be the most use-
ful partisans of the measures in which he took so
strong an interest.

Clinton's person, in his youth and early manhood,
was remarkable for its masculine beauty, and, as
years advanced, assumed a majestic character. His
stature was upward of six feet, straight, and finely
proportioned. His eyes were a dark hazel, ap-
proaching to black, and highly expressive ; his
hair brown ; his complexion clear, and more florid
than usual among Americans ; his teeth fine, giv-
ing a peculiar grace to his smile ; his nose slightly
aquiline. His habits of reflection and close study
were marked in the ordinary expression of his
countenance, which, controlled at an early period
of his life to the gravity becoming the magistrate
and the senator, presented an appearance of se-
riousness almost approaching to austerity. When
speaking in public, however, his face expressed,
with the utmost flexibility, the varying emotions to
which his words gave vent ; while in the inter-
course of private life and in familiar conversation,
the gravity, which rested on his features when not
excited, gave w^ay on occasion to playfulness and
mirth.

His portraits, which were painted by many of
our best artists, and his bust by Brouwere, exhibit,

300 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

in almost all cases, the expression of gravity and
reflection. They thus give little idea of the more
agreeable lineaments of his countenance.

He was as exemplary in his private relations as
he was distinguished in public life — a good and
affectionate husband ; a kind and judicious father ;
a friend who in many cases sacrificed his own in-
terests in order to benefit those who were faithful
to him. No shade of suspicion, in all the vitupera-
tion which was showered on him by political ad-
versaries, was ever cast on his moral character.

Although reserved in his manner in mixed so-
cieties, he was playful, sportive, and cheerful in
his intercourse with his children, kind, and of the
most even temper. Hence his absence was always
regretted by them, and his return welcomed with
demonstrations of joy.

He was an early riser, and generally despatched
his correspondence, which was often voluminous,
before he breakfasted. He thus had the remain-
der of the day at his disposal ; and, while laborious
to an extent equalled by few even of professional
men, had the appearance of almost perfect leisure
during the ordinary hours of business. Hence,
while holding official stations, he was always ac-
cessible ; and the crowd of visiters which he ad-
mitted did not intrench on the strict performance
of his duties.

It is one of the most remarkable features in his

DEWITT CLINTON. 301

career, that he Avas never defeated in any election
when the question was submitted directly to the
people. The only instance in which he was an
unsuccessful candidate for an elective office was
that in which he was opposed to Madison as an
aspirant for the presidency; and, although there is
little probability that the result would have been
affected by a vote not conveyed through the elec-
toral colleges, the proposition is true to the letter.

On this occasion he may have departed from
his usual prudent plan of weighing well the
chances before he submitted his pretensions to the
people; but there were causes at work which jus-
tify his course, if brought to no other test than that
of political expediency. His uncle had a short
time before become aware of a project, entertained
by the administration at Washington, for dismem-
bering the State of New-York, and disappointed
politicians were named who were to have been
the willing instruments of this suicidal act. It
therefore became necessary to show that the dem-
ocratic party to the North was not in all respects
subservient to the policy of Virginia, w^hich viewed
the rising greatness of New-York with distrust
and jealousy.

This fact in relation to Clinton's uniform suc-
cess whenever he came before the public as can-
didate for an elective office, would appear to jus-
tify his declared confidence in the ultimate judg-

Cc

302 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ment of the majority. With this strong convic-
tion, he appears never to have considered what
would be the temporary effect of his measures,
but only whether they were right in themselves,
and calculated to promote the general prosperity;
' satisfied that, when the mists of prejudice in
which they might be involved by their opponents
had cleared away, his motives would be appre-
ciated and his conduct approved. It thus hap-
pened more than once in his political life, that
the outcry raised against him and his measures
became so great that he appeared to have lost
all favour with the public ; and yet, no sooner had
time for reflection been allowed, than he w^as ele-
vated to the highest ofhce in the people's gift.
On these occasions he retired from the strife of
party until time had been allowed for the cool
judgment of the majority to be formed, and, to
the surprise of his opponents, returned anew to
the political arena, and carried all before him.

Whatever errors in principle or practice he may
have committed, his motives were alw^ays pure,
and directed, not to the attainment of a temporary
popularity, but to the great end of the public
good. With more of flexibility, he might have
escaped the political reverses he experienced, but
he never could have risen with such irresistible
strength as he exhibited in the elections of 1818
and 1826.

DEWITT CLINTON. 303

Violent as were the contests in which he was
occasionally engaged, they seem never to have
produced any rankling in his mind ; and even those
who had been the instrmiients of actual or mtend-
ed injury, were readily forgiven whenever they
saw and acknowledged that they had been m
error. His conduct seems to have been governed
by the Roman maxim of pohcy, '^parcere suhjedis,
et dehdlare siiperhos.'''

We may cite, as an illustration of this feature
of his character, his conduct to Gould and Ward.
This bookselling firm had become the publishers
of a pamphlet which was libellous upon his char-
acter, and his indignation was so much excited as
to induce him to threaten a prosecution. No
sooner, however, had they become sensible that
they had been made the instruments of a false
and malicious charge, and expressed their regret
at the want of caution they had exhibited, than he
dropped all proceedings and freely forgave them.
Numerous as were the attacks made upon hmi
through the medium of the press, there was but
one o'ther instance in which he contemplated an
appeal to a legal tribunal in vindication of his
character. This was a case growing out of the
antimasonic excitement. In the last year of his
life he was charged with having, in his masomc
capacity, sanctioned the outrage committed on
Morgan. The charge was so entirely destitute of

304 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

any foundation, that the hbeller saw that there
was no hope for justification. He therefore threw
himself on the mercy of CUnton, and admitted the
falsehood of the accusation. In this instance also
he refrained from farther prosecution, although it
is clear that he must have recovered ample dama-
ges. His only purpose was the vindication of his
fame, and, that accomplished, he saw no object in
persisting in the suit.

In this, as in many other cases, he showed an
indifference to money. He had, in fact, no dis-
position to accumulate pecuniary fortune, and
exhibited no talent for money-making. In the
hands of one who would have made wealth his
great object of pursuit, his patrimonial inheritance
and the portion of his first wife might have been
the basis of a great accumulation of property,
while the opportunities for advantageous invest-
ment opened to him in his office of canal commis-
sioner might, in hands less pure, have been the
source of unbounded riches. In spite of these op-
portunities, he died in honourable poverty, and
even the plate presented to him by the merchants
of New-York was exposed for sale after his death.

His charities were abundant; and there were
instances, when compelled by a sense of dut}' to
refuse the petition of a mother or wife for the
pardon of a son or a husband, that he gave from
his own purse the means of repairing, in some de-

DEWITT CLINTON. 305

gree, the distress growing out of the conviction of
the criminal relative.

Enough of time has elapsed since his death to
make the opinions now held of him almost tanta-
mount to the judgment of posterity. If a few of
his ancient opponents remain, who cannot divest
themselves of the opinions derogatory to his char-
acter which they once in sincerity entertained;
and if there be others who cannot consistently dis-
avow the expressions they uttered in the heat of
party debate ; the generation which is now rising,
without a dissenting voice, awards to him the
praise due to an enlightened and energetic magis-
trate, a learned and impartial judge, an honest
and patriotic politician, a dignified administrator
of the government. More than all, no voice is
now raised to question the important share he
took in originating, carrying forward, and com-
pleting the policy to which the Erie and Cham-
plain Canals are due, while few hesitate in ascri-
bing to him so great a degree of merit in the ad-
vancement of this policy, as to sink the services of
all other persons into comparative insignificance.

However meritorious may have been the servi-
ces of the subordinate agents in any great event,
history rarely records any but the chief performer.
We speak of the conquests of Alexander and the
victories of Caesar, without reference to the thou-
sands of gallant soldiers and hundreds of skilful

Cc2

306 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

officers who aided in those exploits, and we com-
mit no injustice ; for, if led by men of less genius,
the valour of the one and the tactics of the other
might not have saved them from defeat.

When we contemplate the finished statue, we
think not of the labourers who have torn the mar-
ble mass from the quarry, nor even of the skilful
workmen who have chiselled down its superfluous
parts to an approach to the figure of the clay
model in which the master artist has imbodied
his vivid thoughts ; but to that artist who has re-
served to himself no more than the final touches,
we ascribe the merit of the performance. And so
of the majestic temples of the Christian faith ; the
architect receives all our praises or undergoes our
criticisms, to the exclusion of all who have been
employed in the construction. When Michael
Angelo uttered the sublime thought, " I will raise
the Pantheon on the Temple of Peace," he im-
printed a character on the basilic of St. Peter's
which the mistakes and bad taste of his success-
ors could not impair.

To descend to arts more strictly mechanic : we
never inquire, w^hen we read the name of an Ar-
nold on a chronometer, or of a Breguest on a
watch, through what a multitude of hands the
several parts of the instruments have passed, for
we know that these great workmen have impress-
ed their own style of working on the crude form

DEWITT CLINTON.

307

in which they have received them from the manu-
facturers, and have combined the accessories fur-
nished by others in such manner as no other could
have identically accomplished.

Such exactly is the relation which Clinton holds
towards the canal system of the State of New-
York. He is the chief under whose guidance the
political battle for its erection was fought; the
artist who gave form and shape to the laws by
which it was enacted, and the system of finance
by which it was upheld ; he was not the first to
discern the practicability of the Erie route, but he
drew the argument by which its superiority over
the less expensive course to Oswego was demon-
strated ; finally, he was for fourteen years, from
the time when the canals were first projected, until
their success was beyond all possibility of doubt,
the point in which all communications, partial ex-
aminations, and useful hints centred, and whence
they were promulgated to the public under the
sanction of his authority, adorned by the graces
of h^s diction, and improved by the accuracy of his
judgment. Foreign nations, anticipating the ver-
dict of posterity, connect no other name but that
of Clinton with the Canals of the State of New-
York ; and posterity itself will, beyond all ques-
tion, elevate him in like manner above all others
who have in any way aided in organizing and
completing our canal system.

APPENDIX.

De Witt Clinton to Governor George Clinton.

Washington, January 11th, 1803.
Dear Sir :

The pubHc mind is much agitated, and the public interests
are deeply imphcated, by the infraction of the treaty by the
Spanish intendant of New-Orleans in withdrawing that place as
a depositary for American produce coming down the Missis-
sippi, without assigning any equivalent establishment. I shall
present you with a brief statement of this transaction so far as
it is interesting, and so far as I have obtained correct informa-
tion. Independently of other inducements for making this com-
munication, you must be apprized that the city of New- York
now actually commands, and will, according to every calculation
of probability, continue to command, the greatest part of the
New-Orleans, or, rather, the Mississippi trade; that during the
last year two hundred and thirty American vessels were em-
ployed in it ; that this commerce will accumulate with the ex-
tension of our western settlements, and that, therefore, the Span-
ish proceedings are calculated to inflict an injury upon our trade,
the magnitude of which is at present beyond calculation.

The following facts, connected with and respecting this busi-
ness, are, I believe, accurate.

1st. That the act of the intendant was contrary to the wishes
of the governor.

2d. That the authority of the intendant, in relation to the fiscal
and commercial concerns of the colony, is independent of that of
the governor.

3d. That the intendant is a man of no influence at court, and

310 APPENDIX.

has grown rich from a very low origin ; and that his proceedings
are, in all probability, intended to increase his wealth by their
subserviency to a commercial speculation.

4th. That the court of Madrid has not, in any shape, author-
ized his conduct.

5th. That Louisiana, in the Spanish as well as the French
acceptation, comprehends not only the country on the west side
of the Mississippi as far as Mexico, but New-Orleans and the
Floridas.

6lh. That this country is comprised in one government and
one intendancy under the denomination of Louisiana.

7th. That, by the treaty of Amiens, Louisiana was ceded to
France. That the British minister gave to Mr. King a copy of
the treaty which contained this cession ; but that, in the whole
course of the negotiation for peace, the British abstained from
putting a direct interrogatory on this subject.

8th. That it is not ascertained whether the French mean to
take possession of the ceded country ; and, if they intend it, the
time when is of course a profound secret.

9ih. That the Spanish minister here immediately sent an ex-
press by water to New-Orleans, remonstrating against the pro-
ceedings of the intendant, and advising their discontinuance;
that, although he has no control over the intendant, there is a
very great probability that his advice will be attended to ; that,
if it is not, the minister will enforce it emphatically upon his
own responsibility, and that our government also sent an express
by land charged to the same effect.

10th. That it is the prevalent opinion here, that it is essential
to the prevention of future interruption of our western com-
merce, and the preservation of the peace of the Union, that the
country on the left bank of the Mississippi and east of that
should belong to us, and that there are two modes of accom-
plishing this object — purchase and force, and that the former
ought to be first tried.

11th. Under this impression the president has this day nomi-
nated R. R. Livingston minister plenipotentiary, and Jame^

APPENDIX. 311

Monroe, late governor of Virginia, minister extraordinary and
plenipotentiary, to treat with the First Consul conjointly " for
the purpose of enlarging and more effectually securing our rights
and interests in the river Mississippi and the territories east-
ward of it ;" but as Spain is still in possession of the country,
the like powers, in the same capacity and for the same objects,
are intrusted, in case it should be necessary to exercise them, to
Mr. Monroe, in conjunction with our present minister at Madrid.
By the rules of the Senate, these nominations cannot be con-
sidered until to-morrow. They will undoubtedly be confirmed.
The Legislature of Maryland have passed spirited resolutions
upon the subject of the shutting up of the Mississippi, which
will probably be followed by the other states. You will at once
perceive that part of this communication is intended to be pri-
vate ; but I thought it best to give you a view of the whole
ground, so that you may judge of the expediency of drawing the
attention of our Legislature to this subject, as our citizens are
greatly interested in it, and I am certain that this measure will
be very acceptable to the republican interests of the Union.
You have no doubt witnessed the attempts made in the Morning
Chronicle and federal papers, under the appearance of exclusive
zeal for our national rights, to produce a war immediately with
a view to embarrass our financial arransrements and overthrow
the administration. A suitable mention of this subject, in a
general view of the affairs of the nation, will therefore have a
great tendency to confound these insidious attempts.

De Witt Clinton to James Madison.

New-York, July 1st, 1804.
Dear Sir :
I have the honour of acknowledging your letter of the 25th
of June and its enclosures. I should have answered it imme-
diately, but I was anxious to obtain some documents which
would throw further light on the subject of it, and these I could
not procure until yesterday-

312 APPENDIX.

The attorney of the district will in a few days inform you of
the proceedings which have taken place on account of the viola-
tion of the revenue laws. No coercive process has been issued
under the authority of the state, for reasons arising from a de-
fect of jurisdiction, which I shall hereafter explain to you.

In my communication of the 19th, I gave you the general out-
lines of the proceedings in relation to the rule of twenty-four
hours. In order to evince the frivolous nature of Mr. Merry's
complaint on that subject, and to demonstrate that his charge of
partiality is totally groundless and unjustifiable, I shall now pre-
sent to you a more detailed statement of facts, and make a few
remarks which naturally arise from them.

The French frigates had been in this port about two weeks,
and it was well known and understood that they intended to
proceed without delay to the place of their destination. The
British vessels of war arrived here on the 16th of June, and on
the 17th (subsequent to the aggressions, but previous to my
knowledge of them) I addressed the letter relative to the usage
of twenty-four hours to the British consul-general. It could not
have been supposed that the British vessels intended, for any
legitimate object, to depart from the port almost as soon as they
had entered it. If this had been their design, they certainly
would not have approached so near to the city. The probable
supposition was, that information had been sent from this place
to Halifax of the arrival of the French frigates ; that the British
vessels had hastened here to reconnoitre them ; to watch their
movements, and to follow them out of our jurisdiction for hostile
purposes. As my letter to Colonel Barclay was in consequence
of a communication from General Rey recognising the rule,
it could not have been necessary to notify the latter of it, espe-
cially as there was not the remotest reason to suspect that the
French vessels would follow the British ones out of this port.

The next morning I received an official account of the out-
rages committed at the Quarantine Ground. In the afternoon of
that day I received Colonel Barclay's letter, of which I sent you
a copy, marked No. 5. By referring to it, you will find that it is

APPENDIX. 3 13

extremely disingenuous and evasive It does not appear from
it that he had communicated my request to the British com-
manders. It did not announce any views or intentions of theirs
in consequence of that request. It did not take the ground now
assumed by Mr. Merry. Nor did it stipulate that the British
vessels should not pursue the French ones within twenty-four
hours after their departure, or recognise any obligation on their
part to comply with the rule in any sense whatever. On the
contrary, it appeared from it that the intentions of the British
admiral were to be paramount to the law of nations. Nor could
it well escape my observation, that the declared object of the
visit of the British vessels was not the real one ; that if it had
been the delivery of despatches, as pretended, it could have
been fully effected by their remaining out of the port, and send-
ing a boat up to the city ; that it was not reasonable to suppose
two vessels of war would be sent for the purpose of conveying
communications to a consular agent ; and the mention of taking
directions from Mr. Merry on the subject could be contem-
plated in no other light than as an implied refusal to comply
with my request in any shape, because, in all probability, his
answer could not arrive in season.

Combining Colonel Barclay's answer with the considerations
which I have mentioned, and more particularly with the aggres-
sions at the Quarantine Ground, I had no doubt but that the
British commander would proceed in his career of atrocity, and
I considered it my duty to deprive him of the means as far as
lay in my power. Under these impressions, I wrote the letter
heretofore transmitted, and marked No. 8, to the wardens of the
port. It is predicated upon, and distinctly states the belief,
" that the Cambrian and Driver, vessels of war of Great Britain,
will endeavour to violate the laws of nations by sailing from this
port shortly after the French frigates," &c. Although it does
not expressly mention the outrages at the Quarantine Ground
as an inducement to the direction, yet the words having rea-
son to believe will sufficiently indicate that they were present to
my mind ; and I can truly declare, that if those aggressions had

Dd

314 APPENDIX.

not been committedj the order would not have been issued. I
also thought it expedient to obtain from Colonel Barclay a
more explicit declaration of the views of the British commander,
and I accordingly wrote to him the letter marked No. 6, here-
tofore forwarded. If the British commander really contempla-
ted to observe the rule, by not pursuing the French frigates out
of our jurisdiction, Colonel Barclay would certainly have de-
clared that intention in his answer to which I refer you. It
will appear from it that he was satisfied with the propriety of
my request, for he states that he desired Captain Bradley to
comply if in his power : and I had no reason to suppose from
it that the British vessels intended to leave the port prior lo the
French. It says, indeed, " I take it for granted, the ships are
now on their way to the Hook." As the Hook is that part of
our jurisdiction nearest to the ocean, all I could infer from this
information was, that the British vessels have repaired there in
order to facilitate their egress in pursuit of the French. The
letter from Captain Bradley, said to be enveloped in Colonel
Barclay's, was never received by me. Supposing this, at the
time, to be a mistake, I mentioned it to him, and he promised to
send me a copy, which he has not complied with, for reasons
best known to himself.

The principal ground of complaint appears to be, that the
British intended to depart from this port immediately ; that they
were entitled to depart, if they could gain the ocean previous to
the French ; and that they were prevented from departing by
the recall of the pilots. The pilots left the vessel on the 19th ;
on the next day they were permitted to rejoin them,- which they
accordingly did ; and yet the Cambrian and Boston have not
sailed, but continue stationed near the mouth of the port,
while the Driver is cruising off the Hook. Tho allegation,
then, upon which this pretended grievance is founded, is com-
pletely falsified. The affidavit of Rowland R. Crocher, No. 1,
will indicate new aggressions committed on a vessel coming in
to this port ; and that of Robert Bennett, No. 2, will show that
the Boston endeavoured to intercept an American brig, named

APPENDIX. 315

the Pallas, in her egress from this port, with the probable design
of capturing certain distinguished French citizens who were
supposed to have taken their passage in her. The fact is, our
port is completely blockaded against the admission or departure
of French vessels. There can be no doubt but the British
frigates will pursue and capture all French vessels leaving the
port, without any regard to the law of nations or our neutral
rights. Instead, therefore, of complaining that they have been
deprived of pilots for two days, they ought to be thankful for
our forbearance in allowing them any, after the daring outrages
which they have committed and continue to commit.

On the 26th of December last, an application was made to
me by Richard J. Tucker, at the instance of the British consul-
general, to detain in this port the French armed schooner
L'Ocean, upon account of the intended departure of two British
merchantmen ; and, on the 19th of January, a similar application
was made by the consul-general in behalf of another. The
papers marked from No. 3 to No. 8 inclusive, contain the ap-
plications and the subsequent proceedings ; and in demonstra-
ting that a similar conduct was adopted at the request of British
agents, and in favour of British vessels in respect to the rule of
twenty-four hours, as has been pursued in the case now com-
plained of, they abundantly refute the charge of impartiality.
Any measures in these cases to enforce the rule, were rendered
unnecessary by the annunciation of a determination to comply
with it.

I also transmit an affidavit of John White, marked No. 9,
which proves that the captain of the Cambrian was made ac-
quainted with our Quarantine law, and that he knowingly vio-
lated it.

Since writing the above^ I am told the Boston went out of
port yesterday, and probably on a cruise off the Hook.

316 APPENDIX.

De Witt Clinton to Thomas Willing.

New-York, August 4th, 1804.
Dear Sir :

I avail myself of an early opportunity since my return to this
city, of acknowledging the communication subscribed by you in
behalf of the citizens of Philadelphia, Southwark, and the North-
ern Liberties, in relation to the melancholy death of General
Hamilton.

The unsullied integrity, transcendant talents, and eminent
services of this great man, are universally acknowledged and
duly appreciated by all descriptions of persons here ; and al-
though a large majority of the citizens of this place are decidedly
attached to the wise and patriotic administration which so hap-
pily presides over the affairs of the Union, and were, of course,
opposed to General Hamilton in political opinions, yet on this
occasion we all cordially unite in deploring an event which has
deprived our country of one of the most distinguished of her
citizens, and which, although at all times a public misfortune,
must be considered peculiarly so at the present crisis, when we
reflect on his zealous and honourable attachment to the union of
the states, and consider the disorganizing schemes which, there
is too much reason to apprehend, are m agitation to destroy this
palladium of our national safety, this guarantee of our national
glory.

The virtuous sensibility manifested by the citizens of Phila-
delphia, Southwark, and the Northern Liberties is highly hon-
ourable to them, as well as to the memory of the deceased, and
has made a deep impression upon our minds. In presenting
you and them the warmest acknowledgment for your sincere
and heartfelt condolence, I am persuaded that I faithfully com-
municate the sense of my fellow-citizens, as well as my own
upon this occasion.

I have the honour, &c.

APPENDIX. 317

The Trustees of the Free School to the Vestry of Trinity

Church.

New- York, May 10th, 1815.
Gentlemen :

The trustees of the Free School Society of New- York would
do injustice to their feelings were they not, in addition to their
public acknowledgment, to express to you, in a more direct form,
their high sense of your liberality, charity, and public spirit, in
appropriating the valuable grounds in Christopher, Columbia,
and Hudson streets, for the purpose of dispensing education to
the poor of this city.

As long as benevolence shall be considered a virtue and
knowledge a blessing, this act will command the approbation of
all good men.

I am, in behalf of the trustees,

Very respectfully, your most obedient servant.

De Witt Clinton to J. Ellicott.

Albany, April 4th, 1816.
Dear Sir :

Accompanying this, you will receive an interesting map rela-
tive to the country affected by the proposed canal. It is to be
regretted that the scale is too small. I think that the canal is
in a favourable train, and I hope that it will receive the sanction
of the Legislature in a few days. Your suggestions relative to
the ways and means are interesting, and will, I have no doubt,
be adopted either on this or a future occasion.

Having, ever since Governor has unhinged the execu-
tive power by shrinking from responsibility, considered tho
council of appointment as a deleterious and disgraceful body, I
have paid little or no attention to their proceedings, and I had
not learned, until I received your letter, their doings relative to
Geneva. These proceedings are similar (if not more agcrrava-
ted) to those which have taken place in other respects.

Dd2

318 APPENDIX.

The truth is, that the whole of the appointing power is in the
hands of four irresponsible individuals, whose ephemeral impor-
tance is succeeded by an exit into obscurity ; and the state is
disgraced, and the republican party divided and diminished, to
gratify a hunter after popularity, who had not the nerve to do
right, but whose system is a system of ever-varying shifts and
petty expedients, without an intellect sufficiently enlarged to
comprehend the great interests of the state.

The present council, at least three of themj are totally free

from the influence of which you suspect them ; of I cannot

speak in other respects, but I presume he is also. Those I
know rely very much on the advice of .

I believe that there are strong objections to , not only

on account of the republican principle of rotation, but upon ac-
count of the condition of the republican party, which is divided,
disgraced, and nearly ruined ; but our affairs are brought to a

crisis, and from the political character of , and the probable

results of his success, I shall support T , not as a positive

good, but as a less evil.

J)e Witt Clinton to the Governor of Pennsylvania.

Albany, September 20th, 1817.
Dear Sir :

My absence from this place has prevented an earlier reply to
your excellency's communication of the 3d instant.

The measures adopted by Pennsylvania to connect the waters
of the Seneca Lake and Tioga River, exhibit an intelligent, en-
terprising, and patriotic spirit ; and the benefits which will arise
from the execution of the plan will be experienced in the crea-
tion of an extensive inland trade, and in the consequent encour-
agement of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. The ob-
vious tendency of this measure is to facilitate the transportation
of commodities from this to the neighbouring states.

From a full persuasion that our country will be best advanced
by multiplying the markets for her productions, and by an inti-

APPENDIX. 319

mate and beneficial connexion between the different members
of the confederacy, I consider it a sacred duty to overlook local
considerations, and to promote, to the utmost of my power, every
plan which may be subservient to these important objects ; and
I cherish with confidence the opinion, that the state over which
you preside will, under the influence of an enlightened public
spirit, co-operate with this state in promoting our contemplated
navigable communications between the Northern and Western
lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.

Under this impression I now transmit to your excellency the
official reports of the canal commissioners, and the acts of the
Legislature of this state on that subject.

De Wilt Clinton to Rufus King.

Albany, December 13th, 1817.
Dear Sir :

I feel greatly obliged by your letter of the 5th. I have taken
measures to ascertain the state of our claims vs. the United
States ; but I am apprehensive that they have been greatly, if
not totally, neglected. As soon as I obtain the necessary in-
formation, it is probable I shall write to you and your colleague
at large on this subject.

The canal commissioners have recently had a meeting at this
place. The Northern canal will be contracted for in toto before
spring, and some work has been already done on it. Sixty miles
of the Western have been contracted for, to be frnishcd by the
first of December, 1818 ; and work to the extent of twenty
miles has been already effected, and all these arrangements have
been made within the estimates of the commissioners.

My great regard for the president, and my anxiety to extend
our navigable communication, induces me to regret exceedingly
his scruples about the right of Congress to promote internal im-
provements ; and I perceive a total interruption of the interpo-
sition of the national government in favour of roads and canals.
The probability is, that no amendment removing the difficulty

320 APPENDIX.

will be sanctioned by the states. Some will oppose, because
they believe that the power is already vested in Congress ; and
others will object, because they believe that it ought not to be
deposited in that body. After swallowing the National Bank
and the Cumberland Road, &c., it was not to be supposed that
Mr. Madison would strain at canals ; but so it is ; and the gal-
lantry of his successor, in protecting him with his Telamonian
shield, is more to be admired for its spirit than its prudence.
We shall go on without any expectations of extraneous aid ; and
in the course of ten years, I hope, if Providence spares our lives,
to have the pleasure of a canal voyage with you fron; L&ke Erie
to Albany.

J)e Witt Clinton to Thomas Eddy.

Albany, December 23d, 1822.

Dear Sir :

Mr. S. Burling lately solicited me to recommend the intro-
duction of a plan for laying an excise on spirituous liquors,
and I partly promised that I would ; but, on farther reflection,
I consider it most suitable that the overture should emanate
from his constituents, and with this view I now write to you.

In some well-written essays published on this subject in
Walsh's paper, it was estimated that fifty millions of gallons of
spirituous liquors are annually consumed in the United States,
at an expense of thirty millions of dollars, and with the sacrifice
of thirty thousand lives. If this be only an approximation to
the truth, what a field for reflection does it present to the mor-
alist and statesman.

After deducting foreign importations of spirits, say to the
amount of six millions of gallons, and allowing for four millions
produced from foreign molasses, there would still remain forty
millions manufactured from our own materials. Does not this
astound us with its enormity and alarm, as with its terrific as-
pect!

An excise of one shilling a gallon would produce a revenue

APPENDIX. ' 321

of five millions a year. Double the duty, and you will raise a
fund that will pay off the national debt, and line and intersect
the country in all directions with canals and roads.

Every considerable increase of the price of an article tends to
check its consumption ; and here the revenue of a country
would be auxiliary to its morality — a noble union in the eye of
a great statesman.

De Witt Clinton to Henry Eagan.

Albany, October 1st, 1823.
Sir:

I had the honour of receiving your letter of the I6ih ultimo,
and, greatly respecting the honourable feelings which have
prompted that communication, I hasten to reply to it. A gen-
eral answer will, I presume, embrace the material points on
which you wish to be satisfied.

Your duties as a Knight Templar are subordinate to the du-
ties which you owe to yourself, your family, and your country,
and your natural and social rights cannot be destroyed by ma-
sonic communion ; you have a right, therefore, to withdraw
from the encampment of Knights Templar whenever you may
consider it necessary, on discharging your pecuniary obligations
to the institution ; and no presiding officer has any right to in-
terrupt you in the exercise of this right.

De Witt Clinton to Joseph Sabine.

Albany, October 10th, 1823.
Sir:

I have received, at different times, all the transactions of the
Horticultural Society of London, as far as the second part of
the fifth volume inclusive, and I need not say how highly grati-
fied 1 am at this splendid specimen of the arts, combined with
so much useful information.

I have also received your zoological appendix to Captain
Franklin's journey, for which I thank you. The accurate and

322 APPENDIX.

important information which it contains renders it an acquisition
to natural history.

I see that you have noticed the " Columba Migratoria ;" as this
is one of our most interesting birds, I have sent by Mr. Doug-
lass six living ones, which I hope will reach you in good order.
I have enclosed a paper which contains some observations on
this bird. You will also receive specimens of preserved birds
for your collection.

I am much obliged to you for the N.epaul rice, and I have
made such a distribution of it as I hope will produce good re-
sults.

I have afforded Mr. Douglass all the facilities in my power,
by letters of recommend^Ltion, written directions, and verbal ad-
vice. The notice of the Horticultural Society which I trans-
mit by this conveyance, was written by me with a view to pro-
pitiate the public mind in favour of his mission. I consider your
selection a judicious one : he unites enthusiasm, intelligence, and
persevering activity.

I have sent by him a box of minerals for your cabinet. They
were collected in the excavation of secondary limestone, about
thirty miles from Lake Erie, in the course of our canal opera-
tions. I have not inspected the box ; but, if they are put up ac-
cording to my directions, you will find some specimens not a
little interesting.

You will also receive the Memoirs of our Board of Agricul-
ture, in two volumes, and the transactions of a society for Use-
ful Information, in three volumes. They are intended for the
library of the Horticultural Society.

Mr. Douglass will deliver a box containing some specimens
of fruit, which, if they reach you without decay, may interest
you by their size, if not by their flavour.

The deerskin socks, or moccasins as they are called by the
Indians, were manufactured among the Cayugas, and they, to-
gether with the pamphlets and other articles in the same box,
are intended for you, with the exception of the seeds that you
may consider useful for the society.

APPENDIX. 323

I think it would be beneficial for your institution to have two
additional corresponding members in this country, one for the
North and one for the South. Jesse Buel, Esq., of Albany, sec-
retary of the Board of Agriculture of New-York, and John S.
Skinner, Esq., postmaster of Baltimore, are particularly well
qualified, and their admission as corresponding members will, I
am persuaded, be the means of procuring intelligence and con-
tributions of various kinds and of the most interesting character.

Mr. Skinner will forward a bushel of the famous white wheat
of Maryland, and several volumes of the American Farmer, pub-
lished by hira, and Mr. Buel will also make a communication
to you.

De Witt Clinton to Micajah S. Williams.

New- York, November 18th, 1823.
Sir:

Your communication of this day covers a very wide field of
inquiry, and emibraces many important considerations ; there-
fore I shall endeavoufr to give a prompt, explicit, and, I hope,
satisfactory reply.

The projected canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio River,
ift connexion with the New- York canals, will form a navigable
communication between the bay of New- York, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; of course it will em-
brace within its influence the greater part of the United States
and of the Canadas. The advantages of a canal of this descrip-
tion are so obvious, so striking, so numerous, and so" extensive,
that it is a work of supererogation to bring them into view.
The State of Ohio, from the fertility of its soil, the benignity of
its climate, and its geographical position, must always contain
a dense population ; and the products and consumptions of its
inhabitants mast for ever form a lucrative and extensive inland
trade, exciting the powers of productive industry, and com-
municating aliment and energy to external commerce. But
when we consider that this canal will open a way into the great

324 APPENDIX.

rivers that fall into the Mississippi ; that it will be felt, not only
in the immense valley of that river, but as far west as the Rocky
Mountains and the borders of Mexico ; and that it will commu-
nicate with our great inland seas and their tributary rivers, with
the ocean in various routes, and with the most productive re-
gions of America; there can be no question respecting the bless-
ings that it will produce, the riches that it will create, and the
energies that it will call into activity.

It must be obvious that there can be no insurmountable phys-
ical difficulties to the opening of this canal, if there be a suffi-
ciency of water on the summit level ; and the researches that
have been made establish an abundant supply beyond the pos-
sibility of doubt. The only questions that can present them-
selves are those of comparative difficulty, expense, accommoda-
tion, and productiveness in the designation of a route ; and this
must be committed to the decision of able and experienced en-
gineers.

I should suppose that the maximum cost of this improvement
would exceed $2,500,000. In five years, by an annual ex-
penditure of $500,000, this work may be advantageously com-
pleted. At the rate of six per cent., there would be wanted
$30,000 to pay the first year's interest * the second year,
$60,000 ; the third year, $90,000 ; the fourth year, $120,000 ;
and the fifth year, $150,000. The only financial difficulty, in my
opinion, will be the procurement of funds for the payment of
the interest.

If the canal be commenced on the lake side, every step of its
progress will open a most extensive navigation, and be the
means of producing revenue ; and, at the termination of the five
years, the profits of the canal will not only defray the interest,
but produce a surplus revenue applicable to other objects^

Supposing this canal to be 200 miles in extent, it would un-
doubtedly, by a vigorous effort, be finished in two years ; but it is
advisable to extend the period to five years. The banks will
in that case become consolidated before much use. As the op-
eration proceeds, there will be an augmentation of skill and ac-

APPENDIX. 325

quisition of experience, which will produce economy and im-
proved workmanship ; and as one fifth of the whole sum will
in this case be only required for each year, the pecuniary ad-
vances that are essential will not be so onerous as if made
within a shorter period ; and it ought to be recollected that the
Erie Canal will be completed next year ; that Ohio can avail her-
self of the aid of able engineers and skilful contractors; and that
an undertaking conducted under such auspices will propitiate
public opinion, and secure the confidence of capitalists who are
disposed to embark their funds in the enterprise.

I shall now proceed to answer the following interrogatory,
** Whether, in my opinion, funds can, say in two years from this
time, be obtained, by loans at different periods, as may be re-
quired, to the amount of $2,500,000, on the credit and in behalf
of the State of Ohio, at an interest of six per cent, per annum,
by giving satisfactory references for paying the interest semi-
annually, and reimbursing the principal at the termination of
thirty years 1"

I have no hesitation in answering affirmatively ; I have no
doubt but that funds to the extent specified, and on the terms
proposed, may be procured. The requisite loan may be ob-
tained either in Europe or in this country.

It will be recollected that there is a vast disposable unem-
ployed capital in Great Britain. The finances of that country
are in a state of improvement, and in a period of peace she now
requires no loans. The greatest borrower is consequently out
of the market. The moneyed men in Europe have therefore
accommodated France, Austria, Russia, and some of the gov-
ernments in South America, with extensive loans, and certainly
none of them afford such ample security for reimbursement as
the State of Ohio.

The moral and political institutions of Ohio are all propitious
to the observance of good faith ; her population is respectable
in number, and excelled by none in elevation of character ; her
government has been wisely administered, and she cherishes
with enthusiasm that spirit of liberty and independence which is

El

326 APPENDIX.

connected with the best interests of men and the most flourishing
condition of states.

Next to New-York, Ohio will be the most populous state in
the Union ; she is susceptible of a population of 12 millions ;
contains 39,000 square miles, and has every facility for carrying
the pursuits of productive industry to the highest pitch of im-
provement.

She therefore presents all the leading inducements for the
confidence of capitalists. She does not owe a cent, and can, it
is hoped, so arrange her financial affairs as to laeet the interest
of the loans.

At the termination of one year New- York will have no far-
ther occasion for loans ; and in two years a considerable portion
of the funded debt of the United States will be paid off. Capi-
talists can then find no better place of investment than Ohio.

If two millions and a half are borrowed, every square mile in
Ohio will be only answerable for sixty-four dollars. What an
ample security for so small a sum ! and it will be recollected
that, when this canal is perfected, it will, by the markets which
it opens, increase the value of lands almost immediately fifty
per cent., and diffuse the blessings of opulence over the whole
country.

In a word, sir, all that is necessary to complete this great en-
terprise is the will to direct it. Considering, as I always have,
that it is only a continuation of the Erie Canal ; that it will pro-
mote correspondent advantages, and that it is identified with the
stability of our government and the prosperity of our country, I
own that I feel a more than common solicitude on this subject.

De Witt Clinton to William D. Foot.

Albany, December 4th, 1823.
My dear Sir :
Your friendly letter of the 17th of November arrived when I
was on a visit to New- York, from which place I have recently
returned. This must be my apology for so protracted a reply.

APPENDIX. 327

When at that place I have learned enough to convince me
that your suggestions are correct, and this impression is cor-
roborated from so many respectable quarters, that doubt would
be affectation. The body politic is indeed about to relieve itself
from the unnatural pressures which have been heaped upon it.

As to the future, we must be regulated by events, keeping
strictly in view the great interests of our country, as paramount
to all earthly considerations. In the opinion of the best-informed
men in the Union, the voice of this state will have a preponder-
ating effect. Governor Randolph, Mr. Jefferson's enlightened
and patriotic son-in-law, told me so lately, and without reserve,
in New-York. In whose favour that voice shall be expressed
is a subject which requires great deliberation. If we cannot
obtain the greatest good, we must endeavour to select the next,
and, at all events, to avoid alarming evils.

The events which are in a train of development will have an
important bearing, not only on the well-being of America, but on
the stability of free government ; and yet it is appalling to per-
ceive such struggles for power without reference to the public
interest. We must, after all, my worthy friend, rely upon the
general diffusion of education as the palladium of liberty. The
people always mean right ; and, although sometimes misled, yet
they will, in the progress of time, render justice to themselves
and to their real friends, if the blessings of knowledge are freely
and fully communicated.

You will perceive that this hasty communication is intended
for your private perusal ; I shall be happy to be favoured with a
continuation of your correspondence.

De Witt Clinton to Mahlon Dickerson.

Albany, December 13th, 1823.
Deab Sir :
I thank you for the President's Message, which is justly con-
sidered an able document. If you have any intelligence with
respect to the Northern Canal of New Jersey, it will give me

328 APPENDIX.

great pleasure to hear from you respecting it, as I conceive the
contemplated measure to have a very important bearing on the
public interests.

When I had the pleasure of seeing you at your house, I
promised, in reference to the prosperity of your fishponds, to
communicate to you a mode of raising trout that has been suc-
cessfully adopted in Europe.

About forty years ago, Mr. Jacobi, of Hanover, after pre-
paring a trough with gravel at the bottom, through which spring
water was made to flow, took a female trout, and pressed and
rubbed its belly gently, by which means it parted very readily
with its spawn without any injury, in a basin of clear water.
He then took a male trout, and rubbed and pressed its belly
gently in the same manner, to let the melt or soft roe enter the
same basin where the female roe was, and then stirred them to-
gether. The same result would follow if the roe were cut out
of dead fishes, and mixed together in the same way. He then
spread the mixed spawn in the trough, and let in the water.
A more detailed account of this process may be found in the
thirty-fourth volume of Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine, which
work you either have, or ought to have, in the library of Con-
gress. In this way he bred annually vast quantities of salmon*
trout, and other fresh-water fish.

We have so many good indigenous fish, that it has not been
thought worth while to import any new species. The common
carp was introduced into England in 1514 ; its favourite resi-
dence is in slow and stagnant water ; it unites rapidity of growth
with longevity, and is very fruitful, a single carp having pro-
duced 342,144 eggs ; and it is also considered excellent food.
It is a hardy fish, and may be imported alive, or its spawn may
be put up and transmitted in jars, as is practised in similar cases
by the Chinese.

The Cyprinus Auratus, or Gold-fish, is a native of China and
Japan ; it will flourish in any collection of pure water, and its
increase is prodigious. It is said to be good for the table. This
fish was imported into Europe from China, and has been intro-

APPENDIX. 329

duced into this country by that circuitous route. I have them
in glass vessels in my house, where they make a beautiful ap-
pearance. They were obtained from a little pond on the island
of New- York, which is literally filled with them. As they mul-
tiply with great rapidity, one of your fishponds ought to be
stocked with them. They will at least furnish food for your
trout, besides gratifying the sight with their beautiful appearance.
If you have a desire to be supplied, call on Dr. Hosack when
you visit New-York, and it will give him great pleasure to see
you accommodated. If I am successful in importing the com-
mon carp from England, you shall participate in the benefits of
my enterprise.

De Witt Clinton to Jacob Harvey.

Albany, March 20th, 1824.
Dear Sir :
I send by this steamboat O'Driscoll's work on Ireland, and
Washington's Sketch of the United States, in separate enve-
lopes. The former is a book of much interest, and contains
many original views and much valuable information. He, how-
ever, too evidently strains his brains to shine as a fine writer,
and he sometimes tires the reader by uniformity, and palls the
appetite by high seasoning. A traveller is more fatigued if the
road is level or straight, than if it be waving or winding. The
Sermons of Blair and the Poems of Darwin have been received
as models of superior writing, but they soon lose their hold on
the mind by their splendid monotony. O'Driscoll has fancy,
pathos, discrimination, information, a great command of lan-
guage, and, what is better, an entire devotedness to his much-
injured country. Except two or three paradoxes, I see nothing
to object to the matter of his book. His idea that the manu-
facturing greatness of England is owing to the poor laws, is
about as wise as the doctrine of Malthus, that the calamities of
Ireland are owing to potatoes.

In defiance of this heretical dogma of Malthus, I did not hesi-
tate to try how far it would apply to the comfort of individuals ;

EbS

330 APPENDIX.

and I availed myself of the opportunities which you have so
kindly afforded me for a full experiment, and I assure you that
I found nothing in the process but what puts the hypothesis of
Malthus to the blush. Surely what is beneficial to individuals
must be so to communities or collections of individuals. The
salubrity of the potato is demonstrated in the beauty of your
women, the strength of your men ; and as population depends
on subsistence, even according to the speculations of Malthus,
the increasing numbers of Ireland, harassed as that country has
been by tithes, taxes, oppression, and bad government, establish
beyond question the futility of his theory.

I am, upon the whole, so much pleased with O'Driscoll, that
I shall esteem it as a continuation of your kindness if you will

favour me with an opportunity of looking at his newspapers.

***** *

* » * « * *

In compliance with your request, and in accordance with my
hereditary predilections, I did not on the 17th forget the coun-
try for which God has done so much and men so little, nor did
I omit to render my devoirs to the saint, and to pledge the health
.of the friend who has so kindly reminded me of the occasion.

J)e Witt Clinton to John Jacob Astor.

New-York, December 2d, 1824.
Dear Sir :

When on a short visit to this place, I had the pleasure of re-
ceiving from your son your letter from Geneva. The surprise
which your silence had produced was removed by hearing of the
accident which has occurred to you, and of which your com-
munication gave me the first information.

The growth of this city exceeds the most sanguine anticipa-
tions. You will scarcely recognise it on your return ; upward
of 3000 houses will be erected this year. This extraordinary
prosperity is principally imputable to the great canals, all of
which are finished, except 30 miles of the Western termination
^f the Erie Canal, and which will be completed the beginning

APPENDIX.

331

of next July. The revenue from tolls this year will be 325,000
dollars, and every succeeding season will augment its amount.
I always told you that, if I were proprietor of the island of New-
York, I would at once construct these works at my own ex-
pense ; and there is now no part of the world which contains a
canal of such extent as the Western one, and which has a city
that forms the concentrating point of such immense internal and
external commerce as New- York.

Our political excitements will not be terminated until the ter-
mination of the pending presidential election. The 24 electoral
colleges met yesterday in their respective states, and gave in
their votes : the whole number of votes is 261.

The probability is, that Jackson will have 100 votes, Adams
80, and the remainder will be divided between Crawford and
Clay. A majority.of all the votes, that is, 131, is necessary to
constitute a choice by the electoral college ; and in case this
aggregate number is not rendeted, the election is transferred to
the House of Representatives, who select by states one out of
the three highest on the list of the electoral colleges. Whether
Crawford or Clay will be the third person is doubtful, but it is
believed that it will be the former. In every alternative, the
general opinion and the general wish is in favour of the elec-
tion of Jackson.

You will probably see in the gazettes that I am elected gov-
ernor by the greatest majority that was ever given in this state
in a contested election. The other elections have been of a
similar character, and we are completely rescued from the late
dominant party. If Heaven shall spare my life, I will endeavour
to put this state on a footing which will call all her energies into
activity, and elevate her still higher in the scale of prosperity.

Your return will afford the highest satisfaction to your nu-
merous friends, and to none more than to yours sincerely.

332 APPENDIX.

De Witt Clinton to James Renwick.

Albany, October 1st, 1825.

Dear Sir :

The firing of heavy cannon along the line of the Erie Canal
on the day of the celebration of its completion, and probably
from Albany to New-York, may afford a good opportunity for
some interesting experiments on the phenomena of sound by the
use of accurate chronometers at suitable places. The distance
from Buffalo to Sandy Hook, by way of the canal, is rising 500
miles I am aware that acoustics or the philosophy of sound
has been closely attended to, but there is constantly unexplored
ground in every science, and valuable gleanings may at least be
elicited from the most improved state of useful knowledge.

De Witt Clinton to Parmenio Adams.

Albany, December 21st, 1825.

Dear Sir :

You have done me the honour to ask my opinion respecting
the most advisable constitutional arrangement for the promotion
of internal improvements. On this subject I never had a doubt
As the national government has all the effective revenue and
funds of the nation, it ought, if it has not, to be invested with the
power of distributing a due portion among the several states for
the establishment of canals, &c. The rule of apportiomnent
should be population, or, if you please, representation. There
might be some difficulty in making all the requisite provisions on
this subject. When there is a common interest of several states,
and the intended work passes only through one state, then the
states interested ought to make a common concern.

For these reasons, and to remove all doubts, I should like an
amendment to the Constitution, investing Congress with the
power of appropriation only and no other, and with th.s express-
ion the first part of Mr. Bailey's amendment is proper in sub-
stance ; but the second section, empowering Congress to make

APPENDIX. 333

BTirveys of coasts, rivers, roads, &;c., is, in fact, investing them
witii plenary power over the whole subject, and extending it to
other points. What power is to judge of urgent purposes but
Congress ; and they may or may not dispense money to the states
as they please. This amendment, if adopted, would be a virtual
annihilation of the state governments ; and I am astonished at
the foolery of the proposal. The author might have considered
it a profound artifice, but its insidious and Jesuitical character is
obvious ; and, although the head of the ostrich is concealed, yet
the whole body is completely exposed. Under the pretext of
rendering homage to the state governments, it gives them no-
thing, and the general government everything.

De Witt Clinton to William D. Ford.

Albany, April 14th, 1826.
Dear Sir :
I have nominated you for Master in Chancery. I should have
added the office of Examiner, but it would be against a rule
which I have adopted, not to vest these two offices in the same
person. This explanation I think proper to make, because the
calumnious reports which appear to have been received and
cherished in your village may also have infected this subject.

I received a letter from of a very impertinent character,

and which I shall consign to the merited contempt of silence,
inquiring, in substance, whether I had changed my principles
and abandoned my friends ; from this and other sources I infer
the existence of slanders of various kinds in your quarter, and
the whole system seems to originate from the appointment of a
notary. This office has never, that I can recollect, been refused
by me on political grounds, and it has always been classed
among those minor offices which are not worthy of any other
notice than the fitness of the candidate. The applications in
such cases of the members from the counties where the officers
are, have been generally, if not always, acceded to on the ground
of unity, and with a view to destroy, as far as possible, those

334 APPENDIX.

agitations which have convulsed and disgraced the state. As
Mr. T was very improperly rejected by the Senate last ses-
sion, with a view, as I was told, to obtain the appointment of

notary for a Mr. , I was determined not to nominate the

latter, and the former has since declined a renomination. In
the interval between the declining of Mr. T and the re-
ceipt of the recommendation of Mr. B., a recommendation in
favour of Mr. W., by the Senator and Members of Assembly of
your county, was handed to me, and I acquiesced, as usual, in the
arrangement ; and I am only surprised that men of sense should
so far lose their intelligence as to lay stress on such petty in-
cidents.

Mr. B. was nominated as brigade inspector. The brigadier
general is opposed to it ; and, in taking this step, which I con-
sider due to his position and his merits, I am not without my
apprehensions that he may be rejected. The opposition, you
know, have a majority in the Senate, and a conciliatory system
is necessary between the two branches of the appointing power,
in order to promote the best interests of our country ; for the
best laws are inefficient without good officers to execute them.

My course of policy was delineated in my first message.
Chosen by the people, I expressed my determination to be their
governor, not the governor of a party. I have acted on this sys-
tem honourably, conscientiously, and to the general satisfaction.
Not a murmur of disapprobation has been expressed against the
principle ; but, when it is carried into practice, the most injurious
imputations are applied ; and, with some of the blustering pa-
triots of the day, moderation is apostacy ; and an attempt to
unite the people in favour of their own prosperity, and in virtu-
ous and patriotic principles, is denounced as a profligate coali-
tion ; and the jugglers behind the distant curtain, who blow up
the coals of discord, are worshipped by the few, the very few
puppets of their ambition : but they that sow the windiwill prob-
ably reap the whirlwind. /- ^-^ 'c, ^ ? Jk

. THE END.

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